Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House on 13 April. Photograph: Salwan Georges/Pool/Salwan Georges - Pool/CNP/ShutterstockView image in fullscreenDonald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House on 13 April. Photograph: Salwan Georges/Pool/Salwan Georges - Pool/CNP/ShutterstockExplainerTrump news at a glance: president posts AI image comparing himself to Jesus after picking a fight with the popeTrump’s now-deleted post sparked the wrath of some of his loyal conservative Christian followers – key US politics stories from Monday 13 April at a glanceDonald Trump managed to pull off a bit of a miracle on Sunday: he offended and upset many of his conservative Christian followers.Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself to Truth Social on Sunday depicting him as a Jesus Christ-like figure, with divine light emanating from his hands as he heals a stricken man in a hospital bed with a demon from hell floating in the background.The president has since deleted the post, which also followed a lengthy tirade about Pope Leo XIV on the site the same day in which he called him “weak on crime” while also suggesting he should “stop catering to the radical left”.Trump made the comments after Leo suggested over the weekend that a “delusion of omnipotence” was fuelling the US-Israel war on Iran. Pope Leo later said he did not fear the Trump administration and would continue to speak out against war.Trump faced the wrath of some of his most high-profile and loyal supporters, some of whom called his post “disgusting” and “OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy”, urging the president to “ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God”.The fact that Trump deleted the post is noteworthy, since he rarely walks back anything he blasts out on social media, such as his Easter Sunday post yelling at Iran to “Open the Fuckin’ Strait [of Hormuz], you crazy bastards” and praising “Allah”.Trump deletes post with AI image of himself as Jesus-like figure after outcryWhen reporters asked Trump whether he posted a picture depicting himself as Jesus Christ, Trump said “it wasn’t a depiction, it was me”, though he insisted: “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better.”Read the full storyUS starts naval blockade of Iranian ports after deadline passesThe US blockade of ships using Iranian ports in the Gulf began on Monday evening, turning the six-week-old conflict between the US-Israeli coalition and Iran into a test of economic endurance.Read the full storyOrbán’s defeat holds lessons for US: ‘Autocrats may rise, but are not invincible’For US Democrats seeking a ray of light in the dark landscape of Trump’s authoritarian onslaught, illumination has arrived from the unlikely source of Budapest.Viktor Orbán’s stunning defeat in Hungary’s general election – ending 16 years of unbroken rule for his governing Fidesz party – carries symbolic and psychological significance for American politics out of all proportion to the central European country’s modest size and distance from the US.Read the full storyTrump media company drops lawsuit against the GuardianTrump’s media corporation has dropped a defamation claim against the Guardian and two other defendants over a report that federal prosecutors were investigating $8m in payments the company received from entities with ties to Vladimir Putin as possible money laundering.Read the full storyTrump administration agrees to keep flying Pride flag at Stonewall monumentThe government revealed the decision as it seeks to settle a lawsuit filed by LGBTQ+ and historic preservation groups who had sought to block the removal. A judge must still approve the agreement.Read the full storyWhat else happened today: Representative Eric Swalwell, the Democratic frontrunner in the fiercely contested race to be governor of California, has suspended his campaign amid a series of sexual assault and misconduct allegations by a former staff member and at least three other women. Bernie Sanders has sounded an alarm over the US economy, warning “the worst is yet to come” unless workers overcome a “ruling class” of billionaires. A Texas man was charged with hurling a molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and attempting to set fire to the AI firm’s headquarters. A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote US islands. Super Typhoon Sinlaku is expected to make landfall on Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said on Monday. Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, announced on Monday he was stepping down from Congress after acknowledging an extramarital affair with a staffer. Two immigration judges who ruled against the Trump administration in the deportation cases of pro-Palestinian university students have been fired by the Department of Justice. Catching up? Here’s what happened on 12 April 2026.Explore more on these topicsTrump administrationTrump administration briefingDonald TrumpUS politicsexplainersShareReuse this content