President Donald Trump just found himself in the middle of another controversy after he shared an AI-generated image on his Truth Social platform that depicted him in the image of Jesus, seemingly performing a biblical-style healing on a man. Although he later deleted it, Trump claimed he thought the image depicted him as a “doctor” or a “Red Cross worker” rather than a messianic figure – but that was only after representatives from both sides of the aisle shared their disapproval of the image.
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Bishop William J. Barber II, President & Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, convened the 2026 Yale Center for Public Theology & Public Policy Conference (April 12-14, 2026), which centers on the moral dimensions of politics.
Hosted by Repairers of the Breach and the Yale Center for Public Theology & Public Policy, this year’s gathering coincides with the 2026 midterm elections and includes discussions with progressive clergy, scholars, and moral activists around the theme for this year’s conference, “What Are The Moral and Spiritual Issues of the 2026 Elections?”
On Tuesday morning, Barber and several clergy held a press conference to address the President’s latest post, describing it as “Trump’s War on Divinity.”
After prayer and reading a portion of Exodus 20, Barber opened his remarks by describing Trump’s photo as “idolatry,” adding that worshipers of God are not to worship God in “images, idols, and AI pictures.”
This is not a gathering of left clergy or right clergy or conservative clergy and voices or liberal,” said Barber. “Our public policy begins with our public theology, and our public theology grows out of the Word of God. Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Barber and the other clergy also spoke about the United States current military conflict with Iran. Rev. Dr. Hanna R. Broome, National Director of Religious Affairs for Repairers of the Breach, called the moment “a moral crisis” and “not merely a political disagreement.”
“We’ve come to denounce this war and declare that the president, by saying, if another country didn’t do what he said, he would ‘reign down hell on them’ and ‘wipe out an entire civilization,” Barber explained.
“Every conversation about bombs and missiles goes back to the rhetoric of “reigning down hell,” Barber continued. “There is nowhere in our constitution that presidents are given the authority to rain down hell, “rain” or “reign.” There’s a level of arrogance that points to a kind of madness.”
Dr. Broome added that in a moment like this, it’s more important than ever for the American people to remain actively engaged.
“This present crisis is one that requires sustained public engagement, deeper local organizing, a broader turnout, and preparation for possible escalation through nonviolent civil disobedience,” he said.
Barber closed the press conference with a challenge, saying, “whatever you call your religious encounter… it should produce a quarrel with the injustices in the world.”
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