Emily Zemler
View all posts by Emily Zemler April 14, 2026
Jon Stewart on 'The Daily Show' Courtesy of Comedy Central Jon Stewart took aim at Donald Trump‘s criticism of Pope Leo XIV and the endless stream of lies the president continues to tell, including that an AI photo he posted of himself as Jesus was actually him as a doctor.
The late-night host broke down the feud between Trump and the Catholic church. Stewart explained that Pope Leo XIV delivered “a beautiful, compassionate message” on Easter, which called for peace around the world.
“It does not come into my brain that anyone in the world hearing the Pope’s message of peace will have some kind of weird problem with it,” Stewart noted. Trump, of course, did, writing on Truth Social that the Catholic leader was “weak” and a “loser.”
“I am really starting to sour on this president,” Stewart responded. “Look, President Trump, I know the Vatican’s been critical of your policies, but you gotta remember that at the end of the day you and the Catholic Church both historically care deeply about the same thing—covering up sex scandals.”
The host explained that Trump’s comments upset a lot of people of Christian faith, but he assured viewers, “Please don’t worry, it gets worse.” Stewart shared the AI-generated image Trump posted, which depicts himself as Jesus Christ healing a man. That man, as Stewart observed, looks a bit like The Daily Show‘s host.
“I know I don’t have the vigor and spunk of my MTV days, but I didn’t know we were here already,” Stewart quipped. “I didn’t realize my look had reached leper territory. I mean, from the picture, it looks like it was touch-and-go with me for a while.” He added, “This is freaking me the fuck out.”
He added, “I like how there’s only so much AI can do. AI is like, ‘Look, I can give you the fireworks and the healing powers and I can make you Jesus. But you weigh what you weigh.'”
When Trump was confronted by a reporter about the now-deleted image, the president claimed he thought the photo was a depiction of himself as a doctor.
“That’s you as a doctor? Why don’t you own it, you big puss bag?” Stewart ranted. “Do you even care about lying to us anymore? Is it over? Has this relationship gone still? Your lies used to have a real spark: ‘They’re eating the cats and dogs.’ ‘Venezuela stole the 2020 election.’ And now the best you’ve got is: ‘Oh, it wasn’t Jesus. I’m a doctor.’ You need to find your happy place, and fast. We expect better lies, sir.”
