Darren Bailey says Trump’s mocking of Pope Leo, post of himself as Jesus is ‘wrong’
Trump and Pope Leo clash as Chicago's Cardinal Cupich weighs in on Iran
Paris Schutz breaks down the back-and-forth between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV—and why Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich is taking a stand against the war in Iran.
CHICAGO - Darren Bailey, the Trump-supporting GOP candidate for governor in Illinois, criticized the president on Monday for his attacks on Pope Leo XIV and for posting an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure.
What they're saying:
Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday night to blast the Chicago-born pontiff for being "weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy," after Leo criticized the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The president also posted an AI-generated image of himself in which he appears to be dressed like typical depictions of Jesus and putting his hand on a sick person. The post has since been deleted from his Truth Social account.
"I'm a Christian and I'm an Illinoisan. President Trump mocking a Chicago-born Pope and posting himself as Jesus Christ is wrong," Bailey wrote on social media. "I don't care whose name is attached to it—I'll always call it like I see it."
State Sen. Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee for Illinois governor, talks with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on Sept. 29, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
During his time in state politics, Bailey has been an ardent supporter of Trump, even borrowing policy ideas like a form of DOGE for Illinois if he were to be elected governor. But during this second attempt to unseat Gov. JB Pritzker, a frequent Trump critic, Bailey appears to have taken a more measured rhetorical approach.
Bailey said he’s running a "different campaign" compared to his first run in 2022, when he lost by double-digits to Pritzker, especially in the Chicago area. He's said the death of his son and multiple other family members in a helicopter crash was also "humbling."
Earlier this year, Bailey called out a post by the national GOP of an AI-generated image of Pritzker intended to mock the governor for his weight. Bailey responded, saying such mocking was "unnecessary, unproductive, and has no place in our politics."