Friday 17/April/2026 – 05:04 PM
President Donald Trump represents a second return of Christ, Republican Rep. Troy Nehls said during an interview with a CNN correspondent at the Capitol on Thursday.
A congressman likens Trump to the return of Christ
The statements of Nehls, who represents the 22nd Congressional District in Texas, came when CNN correspondent Manu Raju asked him about a post by Trump on the Truth Social platform that included an artificial intelligence-generated image in which he appeared to embody the character of Christ, which was later deleted.
“I think all of this has been taken out of context,” Nihls said. Raju interrupted, saying: “Is it so?”
He replied: Yes, I think so. I think he resembled the second return of Christ in my humble opinion. He did a wonderful job, and he has a very difficult task.
Pope Leo
Troy Nehls, a Republican representative loyal to Trump
During President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in March 2024, Nehls wore a T-shirt with Trump’s image after his arrest in Georgia.
Three days after Trump’s inauguration, he co-sponsored a bill that would, if passed, rename Dulles Airport in Virginia as Donald J. Trump International Airport.
The clash of Trump and Pope Leo
Trump’s disagreements with the Pope began last week when the Pontiff condemned the president’s threat that “an entire civilization will disappear tonight” if Iran did not meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pope said on April 7: This threat directed at the entire Iranian people is truly unacceptable.
He added: People want peace. I call on citizens of all countries concerned to communicate with the authorities, political leaders and representatives to demand action for peace.
The Pope also said that attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law. Trump had previously threatened to destroy bridges and power plants in Iran.
On April 12, Trump posted a lengthy statement on the Truth Social platform in which he accused the Pope of being weak on crime and bad on foreign policy.
Trump said: I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s acceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t want a pope who criticizes the president of the United States while I’m doing what I was overwhelmingly elected to do.
The next day, Trump posted an AI-generated photo of himself wearing red and white clothing and appearing to heal the sick with his hands, which is associated in the Bible with Christ.
Trump quickly deleted the post after angry backlash from Catholics and even some MAGA religious supporters.
When asked about it, Trump said he believed the photo was of him as a doctor.
He added: It was supposed to be a picture of me as a doctor treating people, and I actually make people get better, accusing the media of creating a misleading narrative.
The Pope refused to back down from his anti-war stance, and said he did not fear Trump.
He said: I don’t want to get into an argument with him. I will continue to speak out loudly against war, and seek peace and dialogue.
He added in a post on the X platform, without mentioning Trump by name: Woe to those who use religion and the name of God for their military, economic, and political interests.
