Let’s stop pretending this is normal. Trump in papal regalia — the image was created by AI, but it was shared by President Donald J. Trump over the weekend on his social media site and then reposted by the White House on X. Pope Francis died April 21. And we are not embarrassed? I can’t count the times I’ve thought “No, that’s not real” only to find out it is. Is nothing off limits?
And, then the deflections come: In a response to a reporter’s social media post about Trump’s picture, J.D. Vance, once a never-Trumper and now VP, jumped in with his own X post Saturday, “As a general rule, I’m fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen.” Huh? What the heck does that mean?
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who once warned that Trump would destroy the GOP, kissed up on X Saturday, “Glad to report there is very positive reception and strong momentum for President Trump to be the next Pope. But I will be first to admit there has been some resistance! Must keep your head down and plow forward — can’t let the naysayers win the day. Next week is crucial as the papal conclave convenes… More updates to come!”
Really, Lindsey? You don’t see this as the least bit offensive or inappropriate for an American president? Just a tiny bit?
The New York State Catholic Conference did, releasing their own statement on X, “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
Somebody’s gotta say it, and it won’t be J.D. or Lindsey, or any one of the other 200+ Republican leaders in Washington, so I’ll say it: THIS IS JUST WRONG.
I know it’s supposed to be a joke, or maybe not. Trump did say that he wants to be pope. But it’s not funny. It is classless, tasteless, cruel. And that’s the point. While many people lack class, why does this administration take such delight in its own cruelty?
I think it’s great that we are cleaning up the immigration problem at the southern border. It’s long overdue. But why are we deporting people without any chance to defend themselves, why do we have to shave their heads and strip them down to their underwear, and why do they have to be forcibly doubled over by multiple masked agents while they walk to an airplane? How can we be sure we’re right on every deportee when they are given no due process? It’s cruel.
Why did we send six masked agents in plain clothes, to handcuff and abduct Rümeysa Öztürk, a 30-year-old Ph.D. student at Tufts University, while she walked near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts? Maybe they had cause, but she was in a Louisiana detention facility 24 hours later without any contact from family, friends, or lawyers. Why was this so theatrical? Why were the agents masked? How would you react? It was cruel.
And now colleges and law firms are targets for retribution. Targeting institutions that don’t toe the correct political and ideological lines threatens independent thought and the rule of law. As a Viet Nam-era college student, the free speech we expressed in the early 70s far exceeded the speech that seems much less free in 2025.
I agree that students who took college loans should pay them back. I agree that DEI may have grown beyond common sense over the past few decades, on college campuses and elsewhere. But I also know that past injustices and current inequities still impact opportunities for minorities.
Instead of throwing out every idea and program that has been developed over the last 50 years, perhaps we should study, discuss, and more carefully analyze all sides. Maybe if we bent DEI too far in the past, we should investigate all sides before we swing the pendulum all the way back. To slash all university programs, or to force a law firm to pay millions, simply to appease the ideologies of a single person is cruel.
And what about Republicans Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor? Krebs, in charge of 2020 election cybersecurity, told the truth about the 2020 election. Trump fired him. Taylor, a DHS official under Trump, spoke out about Trump’s recklessness. Now, both Taylor and Krebs have been targeted by a department of justice, whose leader pledged NOT to weaponize the justice department. Ignoring the first amendment? It’s cruel.
So, if Trump wants to play dress-up, as pope, I guess it tells us something about who we are becoming. Our last president had his shortcomings, and no one disputes that, but let’s not close our eyes here. Sunday, Trump responded to a Meet the Press interview question about the current economy with, “I think the good parts are the ‘Trump economy’ and the bad parts are the ‘Biden economy.’”
No problem with that? Where are the constitutional conservatives? Where is the party of the rule of law? Where is my Congressperson? Where is my party?
The cruelty of our deportations will leave scars. The attacks on education could stunt a generation. The disregard for the rule of law will impact our justice system long after Trump leaves the stage, whenever that might be. And the complicity of those who know better will become their legacy.
This isn’t about left or right anymore. It’s about right and wrong. Somebody’s gotta say it.
Curt MacRae, a resident of Coldwater, MI, publishes regular opinion columns…
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This article is so biased it stinks. Do you think Pope Francis was sinless? The catholic church calls Pope Francis..”The Vicar of Christ” as with all Popes…which means..inplace of. But scripture is clear…”all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God.”
If I wanted to be Pope, Id have just as much chance of being Pope as Francis did. The hierarchy however of the Catholic Religion may see that in a different way. President Trump’s AI meme was not intended to inflict injury on anyone. The man stated he would like to be Pope. Trump has never had an alcoholic beverage, has never smoked. So he has two positive things going for him there..but his history of divorce and marriages, along with alleged affairs, may keep him out of the running if he seriously wanted to be Pope.
I think the left, you, and the rest of the democratic political party would do the same thing, react the same way, if Jesus himself returned, and wanted to be Pope. The world will get it’s chance more than likely here soon, when Christ does return, and sets up his kingdom. And it wont be a Pope by the side of Christ doing it.
To respond to this comment, I would say no, I don’t think anyone is without sin.
Continuing through the comment, ‘ll have to take you at your word that you have as good a chance to be pope as Pope Francis did. I know I don’t have that chance.
As far as never drinking and never smoking, I’m not sure those are the qualifiers that the Conclave considers, but I do believe that multiple divorces and documented affairs, along with the bigoted, slanderous, conceited personality that we see every day might lessen his odds (maybe they did – after all, they chose Leo). I don’t drink or smoke, never have, but don’t consider that a ticket to sainthood.
Regarding the comment as “the left, you, and the rest of the democratic political party” goes, I’ve been a conservative for 40 years. Just because you lean right, doesn’t mean you have to join the cult.
And, when Jesus does return, I’m not sure even he could interpret your last comment.