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Pope’s stance on Iran war is shocking and ignores Tehran’s evil

If the purpose of trolling — the posting of offensive or inflammatory messages about an individual on social media — is to produce an overreaction, Donald Trump is a grandmaster of the genre.

He lashed out at Pope Leo XIV for opposing the Iran war.

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”

Shortly after, he shared an AI-generated image, first posted by a supporter in February, depicting himself with a light emanating from his person, laying his hand on the forehead of a prone figure in a hospital bed.

This produced outraged claims that he was portraying himself as Jesus. Since his AI self was dressed in indeterminate red and white robes and was surrounded by an American flag, the Statue of Liberty, eagles and jet fighters, this was more likely a bit of pagan kitsch depicting Trump healing the world through the exercise of American power.

This didn’t prevent a near hysterical clamor that he was clearly a sacrilegious megalomaniac and had now lost the Christian vote.

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The furor over the image (which Trump subsequently deleted)........

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