Sri Lanka, April 13 -- Faced with growing backlash, US President Donald Trump appears to have removed a controversial Truth Social post depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure.

The AI-generated image, which showed Trump appearing to heal a sick man in a hospital bed, sparked fierce backlash from both sides of the US political spectrum, including from some of Trump's most ardent supporters.

The post came just hours after Trump posted a lengthy message criticising Pope Leo XIV, a vocal critic of the US and Israeli military operation in Iran.

The BBC has contacted the White House for clarification on why the post was removed.

The now-deleted image showed Trump, wearing a white robe, with a glowing hand on the forehead of a sick man, whi...