ToplineRep. Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday he convinced President Donald Trump to remove a social media post he made depicting himself as Jesus Christ, revealing conversations with the president as Trump faces bipartisan backlash over the image.Johnson told reporters about his discussions with Trump about the image.Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesKey FactsJohnson said he talked to the president as soon as he saw the post, which appeared to be AI-generated and depicted Trump as a Christ healing a bed-ridden sick man with the American flag, fireworks and the Statue of Liberty in the background.Johnson said he told Trump he did not believe the post was being “received in the same way he intended it. He agreed and he pulled it down.” “I did ask him to delete it,” Johnson added, according to Politico.Trump explained to Johnson how he understood the post and did not think the image was sacrilegious, the congressman added.Trump defended the post after its removal Monday, claiming he believed the image of him, which featured the president wearing robes and a red sash, actually depicted him as a doctor.TangentPope Leo XIV said Monday he had no fear of the Trump administration after the president claimed he was soft on crime and “terrible for Foreign Policy.” The Pope added he didn’t think “the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing… I will continue to speak out loud against war.”Key BackgroundTrump posted the image Sunday night on Truth Social with no caption, sparking backlash from conservative figures and Republican lawmakers. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a MAGA firebrand who has largely flipped her stance on Trump, denounced the post and was “praying against it,” noting Trump’s recent public feud with the Pope. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said Tuesday the image was “not okay” and that “God will not be mocked.” Trump and his administration have posted what appeared to be AI images before, with the official White House page on X posting an image of him on a spoof magazine cover that depicted him with a crown atop his head and a caption that read “LONG LIVE THE KING.” Trump also posted an AI video showing him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shirtless and drinking beverages by a pool at a fictional beachfront resort in the Gaza Strip.Further ReadingPope Leo Says He Has ‘No Fear’ Of Trump Administration After President Attacks Him (Forbes)