Danielle Kurtzleben

And it all highlights a pretty remarkable aspect of all of this, which is how differently Trump and the pope have responded to each other.

Trump is attacking the pope like a political opponent.

He posted that the pope is weak on crime, for example.

Pope Leo, on the other hand, is talking about the war generally in these bigger terms, about peacemaking, humanity, and the Gospels, and God.

So Trump is picking a fight here with someone who's operating on this totally different level.

Trump is making this about him, about winning and strength.

The Pope isn't really engaging with that.

He's the head of this millennia-old institution, and he's talking from a place of belief as opposed to winning or losing.

Trump tells members of the media that he did post the apparently AI-generated image, but didn't think it depicted him as Jesus.

The post was deleted after many, including Trump supporters, criticized the imagery.

Trump also said he won't apologize to Pope Leo after lashing out at the pontiff for his comments criticizing the war in Iran.

Pope Leo called the president's threats last week to destroy Iranian civilization unacceptable.

Trump, meanwhile, called Pope Leo weak on crime.

Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White House.

Trump tells members of the media that he did post the apparently AI-generated image, but didn't think it depicted him as Jesus.

The post was deleted today after many, including Trump supporters, criticized the imagery.

Trump also said he won't apologize to Pope Leo after lashing out at the pontiff for his comments criticizing the war in Iran.

Pope Leo called the president's threats last week to destroy Iranian civilization unacceptable.

Trump, meanwhile, called Pope Leo weak on crime.

Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White House.