AI & Christian Iconography: the Past pro the Present. The Case of Donald Trump as Salvator Mundi

This essay examines the use and re-signification of Christian iconography in contemporary political communication, focusing on an AI-generated image posted by Donald Trump in April 2026. The image portrays the President in a messianic, Christ-like role while healing a sick man through physical touch, an act that sparked immediate controversy, causing the image to be quickly removed. Through a detailed iconographic analysis, the author traces the visual models underlying this digital hybrid: after identifying its most immediate contemporary prototype in a stained-glass window from the Song Vinh Church in Vietnam, it discusses other iconographic references, from the Flemish and Leonardesque tradition of the Salvator Mundi to the motif of the “mandorla” in Christ’s theophanic episodes, up to the borrowing of papal attire. Through such analysis, the essay also presents the findings of a seminar on Christian iconography conducted at the University of Trento, highlighting how younger generations, despite living in a highly secularized society, can regain critical thinking tools by studying the millennial tradition of images. Ultimately, the paper emphasizes the urgency of iconographic literacy as an indispensable tool for navigating and decoding visual manipulation strategies within the digital Zeitgeist.