Weeks after Pope Francis death, Trump laughed off questions about AI-generated photo of him as pope. His dismissal comes on the eve of papal conclave.

Over 12 years as pope, Francis tried to remake the U.S. Catholic hierarchy more in his image, elevating pastors who prioritized social justice and migration issues over culture warriors who were more favored by his more doctrinaire predecessors St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. A new pope who is more conservative could reverse that effort.

The president shrugged off backlash to an artificial intelligence-generated image that depicted him as the pope. One expert in religious studies weighs in.