Gods and Monsters: Trump, Jesus, the Pope and Napoleon.
This week Donald Trump revealed that his latest piece of cosplay is dressing up as Jesus Christ. I want to focus on just one element of that wonderfully tawdry image: Christ-Trump laying his divine light-pulsating hands on a sick man.
Trump forgot the First Commandment: “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have false gods before Me.”
Mark 16:17-18 tells us: “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
In the bible, Christ cured many in this way and these miraculous powers were, in the Western tradition, handed to kings and queens. The Royal Touch, as it was called, could restore sight, cure scrofula, leprosy, and all sorts of diseases. Over many centuries, it was a popular piece of theatrical propaganda used by monarchs who felt insecure in their high office. Images of them curing the sick were distributed to reinforce perceptions of legitimacy.
When I was studying history in France many years ago I paid what would be the first of many visits to the Louvre where I fell in love with the huge canvases depicting historical events by Eugene Delacroix, Antoine-Jean Gros, Jacques-Louis David. My favourite was Liberty Guiding the Revolution by Delacroix, but Gros’ Bonaparte Visiting the Plague-Stricken in Jaffa (1804) also captivated me.
Bonaparte visitant les pestiférés de Jaffa by Antoine-Jean Gros.
The painting is loosely based on real events and Trump’s image of himself as a divine king taps into similar semiology. Both Trump and Napoleon are depicted laying hands on the sick, using the miraculous curative power invested in them. Bonaparte is actually touching the pus-filled bubo of a plague victim – one of his soldiers from the doomed Egypt campaign.
Prior to his army taking Jaffa (in present-day Israel) in 1799, three thousand Ottoman soldiers had surrendered on the promise that their lives would be spared. The French took them to the beach where they were systematically bayoneted to death. The conquering Westerners, as they did many times before and after, spent the next few days raping, pillaging and slaughtering civilians.
I visited Jaffa a few years ago. I enjoyed a fantastic hummus meal in a bustling Palestinian cafe. Later, walking around the old fort city, I was mindful of the series of events from both the Crusader and the Napoleonic periods. Those battered, weathered walls, like the people of West Asia, have long memories.
Napoleon had commissioned the piece from Antoine-Jean Gros partly to counter reports that, rather than comforting his sick soldiers, he had ordered their poisoning before he and the surviving able-bodied remnants of his shattered army fled before the oncoming Ottomans.
Over the last few years I have written several articles about war propaganda, usually about terrible lies. “Forty beheaded babies survived the Hamas attack” outlined several famous examples of fabricated demonizing stories used to justify real atrocities about to be committed.
Trump-as-Christ is part of a different tradition: positive propaganda. Trump is depicted not as a war-monger but as a saintly figure surrounded by a group of other exclusively white people.
Immediately after Trump posted, then deleted the image, CBS reported the MAGA base felt Trump depicting himself as Jesus was “going too far”. This begs the question why they thought ‘grabbing pussies’ was ok, or killing 168 school girls on Day 1 of the War on Iran and then not saying sorry was ok, or assassinating various leaders, negotiators and even innocent South American fishermen were all okey-dokey? But mess with the Pope and find out! I don’t profess to understand the MAGA psyche.
Spot the fake news. One image was posted by the White House in 2025.
The same day, fresh from watching a UFC fight (instead of being in the Situation Room as Iran peace negotiations were in the balance), Trump tried to get Pope Leo into a cage fight – “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo. Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” – for not being supportive of his warmongering.
The Pope’s sin? “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of Power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” the Pontiff said.
Without realising it, simply by taking on the Holy Father, Trump was putting himself in a choke-hold.
Within hours, the Catholic base (except JD Vance who chose Trump over God’s Pastor on Earth), was laying down a beating on Trump worthy of Tyson Fury. For his part, Pope Leo was dignified and courageous. He stuck to his message of peace and used jiu-jitsu to put the Donald on the mat:
“I have no fear of the Trump administration. I am not afraid of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do.” TKO. Pow!
Trump's poll ratings are sinking fast. Let’s devoutly hope he finally gets the message and backs off Iran, Cuba, the Pope and, well all of us. And he should definitely stop dressing up as either the Pope or God! I’ll give the last word to Saint Paul from Galatians:
“Be not deceived; God will not be mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Eugene Doyle
Eugene Doyle is a writer based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has written extensively on the Middle East, as well as peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific region. He hosts solidarity.co.nz.
This article may be reproduced without permission but with suitable attribution.
