President Trump posts, then removes, AI photo of him depicted as Jesus-like figure — 'Searched' 4.13

[0:05] Hey, I'm Gio Benitez. It's Monday, April 13th. You've got questions, we've got answers. [0:09] This is Search, where we're breaking down what you're asking right now in real time. [0:13] So let's get right to it. We've got our Maya Ephraim here. She oversees our online search [0:17] trends. So Maya, what are people searching for right now? Hi, Gio, how are you? We're tracking [0:21] a story that is spiking in search interest today, a now removed photo from President Trump's truth [0:26] social account of an AI generated photo of himself as a religious figure. That photo is [0:30] getting a lot of backlash from the Christian community. And this all happened after President [0:34] Trump criticized Pope Leo's comments on the Iran War. Switching to the Iran War, the Trump [0:39] administration officially began a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. And this [0:43] comes after peace talks failed over the weekend in Pakistan. People are now immediately turning [0:47] to search for answers about what a naval blockade is and how it could work in the Strait. Searches [0:52] also show real anxiety about how this could impact the ceasefire and what it means for oil and gas [0:56] prices and, of course, their wallets. And finally, in Europe, a story we've been following for a few [1:00] days now. Trump ally Viktor Orban was defeated in the Hungarian election. Vice President G.D. Vance [1:06] traveled to Hungary last week to campaign for Orban, who was swept away in a landslide to the [1:10] opposition leader. Searchers now want to know why Trump supported Orban and what his loss means for [1:15] Trump and the administration. Okay, Maya, some big headlines there. Thanks so much. We'll check back [1:19] in with you very soon. But let's get a little deeper now, dive a little deeper into the story that [1:23] you guys can't stop asking about. It's an unexpected feud between President Trump and Pope Leo. And our [1:29] Melissa Adan, she was on that plane with Pope Leo traveling to North Africa. So, Melissa, [1:34] tell us about this, because Trump is doubling down. He's not apologizing. [1:37] Absolutely, Gio. It is just shocking. Just to put it in perspective for you, Gio, we woke up, [1:45] this was Rome, early this morning in the overnight hours in the United States, when I was seeing that [1:51] reaction, that initial post by President Trump. It was shocking to see that he had such harsh words [1:57] for Pope Leo, the Holy Father. So, at that point, the journalists this morning, I was preparing, [2:03] rushing over to the airport where we were boarding the papal flight because we are currently on Pope [2:08] Leo's planned trip to Africa. So, with that, Gio, came the Axis to meet Pope Leo. I myself got to [2:15] shake Pope Leo's hand this morning. I got to meet him. And then with a gaggle of reporters, [2:19] we were asking him questions and asking him, of course, what was on all of our minds. [2:23] What is your reaction, your feeling to President Trump's comments and his reaction? I mean, Gio, [2:30] he was so open and honest to all of us. You know, we asked you to report live here. We just [2:35] had you put up your iPhone to talk to us because you did not expect to be talking about President [2:40] Trump right now. Exactly. Gio, this is something when I was getting ready to go on this flight this [2:48] morning, or at least from last night, I was thinking we're going to be discussing Pope Leo's [2:53] reason why he's doing this trip, this papal trip to Africa. But already during the weekend, [2:58] even when I was out there at the Vatican, Gio, that Saturday night when Pope Leo held his prayer vigil, [3:03] he specifically called out against war. He called for peace and he said it, enough of war. You know, [3:09] Gio, he was citing previous popes who, of course, have always had messages against war and have always [3:15] historically called for that. But never a time that we have seen something this historic, Gio, [3:21] that essentially a pope not only just calls out for peace, calls out for war strongly and [3:25] confidently, and then a sitting U.S. president has insults thrown at the pope. So, Melissa, [3:32] we're looking at the trends here, and they're basically saying, this is what people are asking, [3:35] did Trump threaten Pope Leo? So did he? Look, directly, President Trump did not threaten the pope, [3:44] but what he did, he attacked the pope. He insulted the pope. He had harsh words for the Holy Father. [3:52] That is what he did, and he had a lot of them. It is to the point now, of course, [3:56] you're familiar with the conservative bishop, Robert Barron. He called out, he said Trump needs [4:01] to apologize for this. Then we have the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference. They've also issued [4:07] a statement saying that they're disheartened by President Trump for saying these words. And then, [4:11] of course, you add on that AI image that then was posted, taken off. This, it's not a good look. [4:17] This is not an okay look. You know, if you're, Pope Leo's on this trip to promote unity and peace, [4:23] and this is quite literally the opposite of that. And we know that the pope said that he [4:27] has no fear of the Trump administration on that plane with you. Melissa, thank you so much for [4:32] reporting there. We have much more coming up on this story in just a bit here. But first, [4:37] let's get to counterterrorism and Middle East expert Javed Ali for more analysis on the U.S. blockade [4:42] of Iran's Strait of Hormuz ports. All right. So tell us, Javed, because right now, the top question [4:47] that we're looking at is, what is a naval blockade? So, Gio, nice to be with you. And so, [4:54] this blockade that President Trump announced yesterday, and apparently is now unfolding, [4:59] is basically where you have U.S. warships entering into a body of water. At this point, [5:04] the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. And at least from what it sounds like, [5:09] they are going to try to enforce the passage of shipping that is going through that very narrow [5:16] choke point that is being shown on your map, which is only about 15, 20 miles at its most narrow point. [5:23] And so, how many U.S. ships are now going to be part of that operation? What are their rules of [5:30] engagement in terms of which of these other commercial ships can they pass, or will they allow [5:36] to pass? What will the Navy personnel be allowed to do in terms of stopping or interdicting ships that [5:45] apparently have paid some kind of fee to Iran in order to maneuver through the Straits? These are [5:50] all the really tactical or practical steps that have to be thought through. And at the same time, [5:56] if there is now a number of U.S. Navy ships that are into the mouth of the Straits, into the Persian Gulf, [6:04] that also increases the risk to them as well. Now, we haven't seen Iran try to attack them yet, [6:09] but now those ships are more in Iran's immediate backyard. So, this is where [6:14] the risk profile also increases on the U.S. military side. [6:18] We know that these negotiations failed and people are asking right now online, [6:21] why? Why did they fail? [6:23] I mean, this is another one of the questions that it's not clear we have all the answers to. [6:28] What we do know, it was a marathon negotiating session in Islamabad from Friday into Saturday, [6:34] almost 20 hours or more than 20 hours between Vice President Vance, Jared Kushner and Steve [6:39] Woodcoff on the U.S. side, a whole host of Iranian officials with senior Pakistani government officials [6:47] also being the mediators. And both sides were in the room, which is unlike other rounds of diplomacy [6:51] we saw previous to February 28th. But all the different issues they discussed, probably, [6:56] or most likely the status of Iran's nuclear program and its highly enriched uranium, ballistic missiles [7:03] and drones, support to its partners in the axis of resistance. If those were all terms or issues up [7:10] for some kind of negotiation in Islamabad, it seems like there was no resolution and neither side could [7:17] come to a good outcome. And so that's why now apparently the ceasefire has at least broken down, [7:24] even though both sides are not yet resuming military operations. So that's where I think we are in the [7:29] state of diplomacy. It doesn't mean that the talks have ended completely. They just may not happen again [7:35] in Islamabad. They may, there may be another location for these talks going forward. And of course, [7:39] all of it impacting oil and gas prices. Javed Ali, thank you so much for that. [7:43] All right. You are also searching Viktor Orban's stunning loss in the Hungarian election. [7:47] That might be a name you never heard before. And thousands of, hundreds of thousands are really [7:52] looking into why this matters. So Tom Sufi Burge is here from overseas. He's been keeping a close eye [7:57] on this. All right. So who is Viktor Orban? Viktor Orban is a 62 year old, the most dominant figure [8:06] in Hungarian politics pretty much ever, Gio. He's been in power, or was in power until last night [8:13] for 16 years straight. He was prime minister before that as well. He's a social conservative. [8:19] And yeah, he's dominated politics in that country throughout most of our lifetimes. And he's been [8:27] a good friend to Donald Trump. He's been a good friend to Vladimir Putin of Russia. And he's been [8:32] an adversary of the European Union. And why did Orban lose? [8:37] A very good question. The economy definitely played a part, right? So Hungary's economy is stagnant. [8:44] You know, I've heard multiple Hungarians in interviews basically saying that they haven't [8:50] seen an improvement in their lives throughout the last few years. And Peter Modjar, the guy who won, [8:56] basically, and swept Viktor Orban, Donald Trump's friend, out of power, was campaigning a lot on [9:03] anti-corruption. And that seemed to hit through to voters. But also, he played a pro-European message. [9:11] Now, Viktor Orban, as I said, has been the nemesis of the European Union. So the European Union, [9:16] that club of 27 nations here in Europe, has been pitted against Viktor Orban. Viktor Orban's been [9:22] breaking the rules, basically, repeatedly over the years, you know, in terms of curtailing, [9:28] you know, what the European Union deems to be democratic principles, like concentrating the power, [9:35] basically in his own party, making sure that judges are appointed are favorable to him, [9:42] creating in Viktor Orban's own words, what's known as a kind of illiberal democracy. [9:49] And basically, the European Union, Peter Modjar, came out and said, well, I'm going to, [9:54] you know, repair relations with the European Union. We're going to actually get on again. [9:59] And that is, now that he's won, that's exactly what he's promising to do. [10:02] And people are searching if Peter Modjar is liberal or conservative. [10:07] He's a conservative, right? I think, basically, you have to be, I mean, [10:13] if you look at all of the elections throughout the last 20 to 30 years in Hungary, you have to be [10:20] socially conservative to win elections in Hungary. So, on social issues like LGBTQ rights, [10:27] he is, I think, fairly similar to Orban. I mean, he doesn't believe in progressive rights on issues [10:34] like that. He was also hardline on immigration. So, over the years, if you remember back to the [10:39] European migrant refugee crisis, Viktor Orban took a really hard stance, closed Hungary's borders, [10:45] and it did really well for him. So, Peter Modjar, you know, wasn't differentiating himself on that [10:49] issue. I mean, basically, he was differentiating himself on the issue of Europe saying, actually, [10:55] I'll repair our relationship with the European Union. You know, we're going to actually get on [10:59] and not be a thorn in the side of the European Union. Because what is true, Gio, is that actually [11:06] Viktor Orban over the years, he has not only been a problem for the European Union, but he's been that [11:12] critical ally for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, but in the heart of Europe. So, he's been [11:18] causing problems. He's been blocking aid and financial loans to Ukraine for their war in their [11:23] defense against Russia. And that's been a big problem for the European Union at large. [11:28] All right. Tom Sufi Burge, thank you so much for all your reporting on this. I know you'll stay on it. [11:32] All right. So, we just ran through your top searches, but what else is on your timeline? [11:35] Let's get back to Maya. So, Maya, what other stories are trending today? [11:39] Well, Gio, it's the end of an era in Miami. The iconic Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a landmark of the [11:43] Miami skyline, was brought down in a controlled implosion to make way for new ultra-luxury development. [11:49] It only took 20 seconds to bring the 23-story building down, and it was the city's largest [11:54] implosion in more than a decade. All right. And that's my hometown. I remember that place [11:58] really well. All right. End of an era. Thank you, Maya. Appreciate it. Okay. Coming up here, [12:01] one search always leads to another. You know that. We've got a trending topic, but that's just the [12:06] surface. And we're peeling back the layers here after Trump posted that Jesus-like AI image of [12:11] himself. That's in the spiral. And it's next, right here on ABC News Live. All right. Welcome back to [12:24] search. Today's top searches are only part of the story. A simple scroll can sometimes take you down [12:29] a deep rabbit hole. Don't I know it? It's time now for the spiral. All right. So, you guys can't stop [12:41] asking questions about President Trump posting that Jesus-like image of himself. So, we're following [12:46] your clicks and your curiosities. And it looks like we're also wanting to know about AI usage here as well, [12:52] and what to know about backlash from his Christian base. So, let's break down for you right now. [12:57] We've got our Peter Haramboulos up first here, then-Christian influencer Ryan Miller. Guys, [13:02] thank you so much for joining us. All right. So, Peter, let's talk about this right now, [13:05] because, of course, President Trump is facing backlash over a now-deleted AI image that many [13:10] are convinced depicts him as Jesus. So, tell me now, did Trump post that picture himself? [13:18] Yeah. Between the robes and the seeming ability to heal with just the touch of his hands, [13:22] that's what most people are interpreting this as. That being said, when President Trump was asked [13:26] about this earlier today, he actually pushed back. He claimed that he was actually being depicted as [13:31] a doctor with the Red Cross. Here's what the president had to say outside the Oval Office. [13:35] I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross [13:42] worker there, which we support. And only the fake news could come up with that one. So, I had, [13:50] I just heard about it, and I said, how did they come up with that? It's supposed to be me as a doctor, [13:56] making people better. Now, ultimately, this coming as President Donald Trump is criticizing [14:03] Pope Leo, and this post also causing an uproar among part of his Christian base. At the end of [14:10] the day, this post was removed about 13 hours after it was posted late Sunday on Trump's Truth Social page. [14:16] This is not the first time, Peter, that he's posted images that go viral. [14:21] That's exactly right. Donald Trump is no stranger to these AI-generated, then-viral images. Just looking [14:28] back over the last year, for example, last year, just days before the conclave, Trump posted an image [14:34] depicting him as the pope. A few months prior to that, he posted an image of him wearing a crown [14:39] with the caption, Long Live the King. Last October, he posted a video of him in a fighter jet [14:45] seemingly dropping brown liquid on protesters. All of this coming from President Trump's Truth Social [14:52] account. And while these are clearly fake images, while they're clearly created with AI, there are [14:58] other instances in which the White House is kind of blurring the line between what is real and what [15:03] is fake. For example, earlier this year, after a protester, activist and civil rights attorney [15:08] in Minneapolis was arrested, the White House actually posted an image showing that arrest. [15:13] The image itself was manipulated to make it look as if that individual was crying, [15:18] even though the actual image, the person was fully composed. By the time they acknowledged [15:23] it was a manipulated image, it had already been seen millions of times on social media. [15:28] All right. Peter Hombless, thank you so much for joining us. My next guest here is Ryan Miller, [15:32] a Christian influencer with over two million followers across his social media. And he reacted [15:37] to President Trump's now deleted post in a video that he posted on Instagram. Take a look. [15:42] Can I just speak for 95% of Christians out there and say, we are really tired of this. This is [15:48] blasphemy. You've got angels that are soldiers or something. You've got Donald Trump clearly [15:54] portraying himself as God. This is exactly what the Bible calls blasphemy. All right, Ryan. So that [16:02] video now has over a million views right now. You posted it knowing that you'd probably lose some [16:07] followers. Why? Well, I don't care. The Lord has pruned the followers out of my heart. And at this point, [16:15] I'm looking at a president right now who I voted for twice. I agree with a lot of his policies. I [16:20] think I can, like I said in the video, I speak for about 95% of the Christians out there. And I say, [16:24] a lot of what Trump has done, we agree with. But there has been a shift. I don't think Trump just [16:30] doesn't like Jesus. I think he probably likes a lot of what Jesus says. I think a lot of what Trump [16:35] says is hyperbole. He's trying to get a rise out of people. This is blasphemy. And if we don't call [16:41] it out as Christians, what we're going to lose is not just the fear of the Lord in the Oval Office, [16:45] we're going to lose the fear of the Lord as a country. This is a sad day for America because [16:50] we should not be so prideful to think that the Lord can't remove his hand of favor from our country. [16:54] And when you have a president who is openly mocking our Lord, who he's coming back with a [17:00] sword coming out of his mouth. He's coming very soon. When he's doing that, there is room to honor [17:05] him, to honor his office. He is still my president. I agree with a lot of what he's done. This is [17:10] blasphemy and it's not okay. Well, and you say that word blasphemy, and it turns out that that [17:14] word specifically is now trending higher than usual, as you can imagine. So help us understand [17:18] what is blasphemy? Blasphemy is speaking irreverently about God. God is clearly laid out [17:25] in the scriptures. He will not be mocked. We will stand before him one day, Isaiah and John stood [17:29] before him and they fell flat on their faces and they said, woe is me. I'm a dead man. I'm a man of [17:34] unclean lips and I come from a people of unclean lips. So the call to the Christian, and I believe the call [17:39] to the world is to understand that, yes, Jesus is the lamb that was slain for us for our sins, [17:45] but he is the Lion of Judah and he's coming back with a sword coming out of his mouth. And we're [17:49] seeing the birth pains. We're seeing these things ramp up. And I think this is one of them where we [17:54] have the most powerful leader in the world, a man that I have supported, a man that I deeply respect [18:01] the office of the presidency. And now he is openly mocking my God. You see, I honor the president. [18:10] I submit and I surrender and I serve my God. And this was, this was a line that he crossed that I [18:15] think a lot of Christians are really upset about. Ryan, is his explanation enough? The one that he [18:19] said that he thought that he was shown as a doctor? You know, I don't know Trump's motives. What I do [18:26] know is, is to pay attention to patterns. And we've seen a few of these patterns now. We've seen [18:31] him posting, you know, this, this AI generated video about Gaza. Meanwhile, there are thousands [18:37] in Gaza that are being killed. It's not the time to joke about that. We saw him post the Obamas as [18:42] monkeys. And then, you know, a lot of people come to his defense like, oh, he, it was his staffer. [18:47] It wasn't really him. Well, you are the highest office in the United States. You are the commander in [18:54] chief. Your call is to be dialed. And your call is to honor. And your call is to lead our country. So [19:00] do I buy it? No. Do I still honor and respect the office? Yes. Do I want to call him higher? [19:08] Because again, right now, what is lacking? Trump will, we'll say, I respect God, but I don't think [19:15] he fears God. All right. Ryan Miller, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. [19:19] On the first episode of Searched, what a day. All right. Thank you so much. Still ahead here. It might [19:24] be at the top of your feed, but what's the vibe? Well, we've got your top pop culture and entertainment [19:29] searches, including all things Coachella. It's the vibe check with Roxy Diaz and it's next. [19:34] All right. It's time now for our vibe check, a look at what's buzzing in entertainment and pop [19:56] culture. And our Roxy Diaz joins me now for more on what's trending on your feed. So Roxy, [20:00] what's the vibe? Gio, I got you handled right now. Pop princess Britney Spears has voluntarily [20:05] checked herself into a five-week treatment facility following her DUI arrest last month here in [20:11] California. Now her reps are saying she is going to take the right steps and comply with the law, [20:16] adding her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for [20:21] her well-being. Now, since the incident, Spears has been documenting how she's been reconnecting with [20:25] her sons, including sharing photos and videos of their trio trip on a yacht just last March. [20:31] Her son, Sean, has also notably showed his public support for his mom by dropping Federline as his last [20:38] name on his Instagram profile and he's added Spears. So now he's going by Sean Spears on his social media [20:43] platform. And I got all things Coachella starting with what I'm going to go ahead and call Cozichella [20:50] because pop star Katy Perry was seen with the former prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. [20:55] He was there. They were both enjoying the festivities over the weekend. Perry documenting the date night [21:00] on Instagram, showing the duo both rocking casual looks and they're walking hand in hand through the [21:05] campgrounds. The pop star even shared a photo of the two just sitting on the rock and enjoying a [21:10] small bite to eat. So regular, so normal. And take a look at this video, Katie singing her heart out [21:17] during the Justin Bieber set. And speaking of Justin Bieber's performance, the pop star left fans with a [21:22] big question mark emoji floating over their heads because instead of backup dancers and that high energy [21:28] choreography that we're used to from Justin, fans got an hour and a half of Justin Bieber scrolling through [21:34] YouTube to sing along to his classic hits like Favorite Girl, Confident and Baby. But Justin [21:39] did show more enthusiasm when he was working on his newer material. And there's speculation that since [21:45] he recently sold his music catalog, JB would have had to pay the newer owners a fee to perform his [21:52] previous material. That's what online commentators are saying and they're convinced that's why he went [21:58] the YouTube route. And also a monumental performance for Carol G, the first Latin artist to headline [22:04] Coachella. She closed out the festival on Sunday with an unforgettable breathtaking career defining [22:09] performance deeply rooted in Latin heritage. She had a phenomenal stage set, props, costumes and [22:15] different elements to captivate the Coachella crowd. She was even joined by Becky G on stage and [22:20] Becky G's mom and Carol G's mom, a lot of G's there, they were seen enjoying themselves while their [22:26] daughters hit the stage. It was really a fan celebration and a family celebration. But here's [22:31] the real question. Gio, have you ever Coachella-ed? And it's happening again next weekend if you're [22:37] ready. I have Coachella-ed. Of course I had. Absolutely. All in the desert with the dust and the whole thing. [22:43] Did you? Oh my god. I'm too bougie. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. I need a VIP all the way. I'm not [22:51] doing it, Gio. Look, you're missing out. I'm telling you, you're missing out. I'll stream it. That's what I'll do. [22:55] I'll stream it. All right. Roxy, love you. Thank you so much. And that's it. That's the first [23:00] episode of Searched. I'm Gio Benitez. This is Searched on ABC News Live, where your questions meet [23:04] real answers. We're going to leave you with what's trending right now on abcnews.com. You see a QR [23:09] code right there on your screen. Scan that and you can catch up. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Bye.