Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is a supporter of President Donald Trump, but he’s blasting the president amid his ongoing criticism of Pope Leo XIV.
Bailey was also critical of an AI-generated image the president posted to social media depicting himself as Jesus, which angered Democrats and Republicans alike.
“I’m a Christian and I’m an Illinoisan. President Trump mocking a Chicago-born Pope and posting himself as Jesus Christ is wrong. I don’t care whose name is attached to it—I’ll always call it like I see it,” Bailey said in a social media post.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also defended the pope in a social media post, joining a growing chorus of critics of Trump’s remarks.
In a conversation with NBC Chicago’s Charlie Wojciechowski on Monday, Bailey said he hoped Trump would apologize for his actions in recent days.
“Well, when I saw that, I was honestly shocked. I mean, let’s be honest, I’ve said things that I wished I could pull back, and I certainly hope that’s the case with President Trump, that this was all in bad taste, and hopefully he will apologize for it,” he said.
Bailey was also critical of Trump’s social media posts criticizing Pope Leo as “soft on crime,” among other accusations.
“I consider myself a friend of the Catholic community…. we’re living in a time when we need unity, not only in this state, but across this nation,” he said.
Bailey, who also criticized Trump after he said Iran’s “whole civilization would die” in a heated social media post, said he has consciously been trying to represent all of Illinois with his remarks since winning the Republican primary for governor in March.
“Being a farmer, being a former state legislature, you learn from your mistakes. And as we started this journey, moved through the primary, I wanted to make sure that people understood that I learned, you know, what I did wrong the last time,” he said. “And I want to represent all of Illinois. And in order to represent All of Illinois, I’ve got to be heard. I’ve got to watch what I say. I got to bring unity, not just to my party, but to all of Illinois and that’s exactly what I intend on doing.”
Trump defended his post of the AI-generated image, which has since been deleted from his TruthSocial account. The president insisted that he thought the image depicted him as a doctor, and criticized reporting of the situation as “fake news.”
“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and it had to do with the Red Cross,” Trump said. “It’s supposed to me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. A lot better.”
The image was posted after Trump had blasted Pope Leo, who has been critical of the Trump administration’s actions in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote in his post, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.”
After the U.S. began strikes against Iran, Pope Leo was critical of the administration, and that continued over the weekend. Leo said Saturday during an evening prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica that a “delusion of omnipotence” was fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.
Pope Leo responded to Trump’s social media critiques while traveling to Africa for his first international journey as pontiff.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo told The Associated Press. “And I’m sorry to hear that, but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
