The pope said on Monday that he has “no fear” of the Trump administration or “speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do”.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump did not apologise.

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong,” he said. “He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result.”

The AI-generated image is far from the first time Trump’s Truth Social has led to criticism.

In February, a racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes was posted to his account and later removed.

The White House Initially defended the clip as an “internet meme video” and told critics to “stop the fake outrage”.

But after fierce criticsm, including from several Republican senators, the post was removed and a White House official said that a staffer had “erroneously” made the post. (BBC)