Sioux Falls Mayor Calls Trump’s Tweet ‘Incredibly Distasteful’

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken is taking a stand on one of the newest posts from President Trump.

Less than two weeks after His Holiness Pope Francis' passing, President Trump decided to post an AI-generated image of himself as Pope on his Truth Social account this past Friday. Many people took offense at this image, including our Sioux Falls Mayor.

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In a tweet on X sent on Saturday morning, Mayor Paul TenHaken expressed his concern about this post, calling the picture "incredibly distasteful."

Mayor TenHaken explains that it shouldn't matter if this picture was meant to be a joke. It's the principle of the message. The official White House even sharing this insensitive content is "unacceptable."

“To see this content posted from the official account of the White House, less than 2 weeks after the passing of Pope Francis, is incredibly distasteful. Decorum still matters in the public square, and everyone across the political spectrum should find this unacceptable.”

Mayor TenHaken even added in an additional comment on Twitter that, "The point is the official White House account posts ridiculous things like this, which is incredibly disrespectful to the 53 million Americans who are of the Catholic faith."

I applaud our Mayor for speaking out on this ludicrous photo. Regardless if this was meant to be a "joke," many people are still grieving the loss of Pope Francis.

When will the new Pope be announced?

In case you're wondering, the Conclave to elect a new Pope will begin on Wednesday, May 7th. 135 Catholic cardinals from across the world will meet at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City, where the 267th leader of the Catholic Church will be chosen.