Washington DC - President Donald Trump recently gave a bizarre excuse as he faces heavy backlash for sharing a social media post that depicted himself as Jesus Christ.

On Monday, the president was asked by a reporter about the post on Truth Social from Sunday night, which featured an AI-generated image of Trump wrapped in robes as he healed a sick man in a hospital bed. Rays of light emanated from his hands, and he was surrounded by others looking at him in reverence.

Trump confirmed that he was indeed the one who shared the post, which was deleted sometime early Monday, but claimed his intent had been misinterpreted.

"I did post it. I thought it was me as a doctor. It was supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better," he argued.

The Republican insisted it "wasn't a depiction" of himself as Jesus, adding, "only the fake news could come up with that one."

The photo was met with outrage on both sides of the political aisle – including notable figures in Trump's typically loyal MAGA base – and came the same day Trump lashed out at Pope Leo XVI for criticizing his war on Iran.

Megan Basham, a conservative Christian commentator, described the photo in an X post as "OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy" and urged Trump to "ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God."

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former MAGA congresswoman who has turned on the president in recent months, said in a post, "I completely denounce this and I'm praying against it!!!"