U.S. President Donald Trump drew strong online criticism after posting a picture of himself dressed in the Pope's regalia.

In the picture, Trump is seen sitting on the papal throne and raising his finger. Trump shared the image in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, and it was later shared on his presidential account on Twitter. The image was posted without explanations and quickly garnered tens of thousands of likes but also angry comments from users.

The image comes just days after Trump was asked by reporters on the White House lawn who he would like to replace Pope Francis, and he replied, "I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice." Many users on social media did not view the image Trump posted favorably. One user referred to it as "disgusting," while other comments described Trump’s action as "disturbing," "disrespectful," and "offensive."

Another user wrote, "I love Trump but find his meme about the Pope disrespectful and insulting. God should not be ridiculed." Another user added, "Please remove this. Many Catholics, including myself, see it as a great disrespect towards the past and future leader of our church."