Trump takes down image from his social media platform that depicted him as a Jesus-like figure
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 13, 2026. (Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — An AI-generated photo that President Donald Trump posted Monday on his social media platform that depicted him as a Jesus-like figure and drew criticism from some of the president’s religious backers was removed roughly 13 hours after it was posted.
At an unscheduled news conference at the White House Monday afternoon, Trump acknowledged he posted the image, but said he thought it was an image of him as a “doctor.”
“Well, it wasn’t a picture, it was me,” the president said. “I did post it, and I thought it was me as the doctor and it had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, March 26, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted Iran is “begging to make a deal” to end the war amid seemingly tenuous indirect talks between the U.S. and Tehran.
“I mean, I read a story today that I’m desperate to make a deal. I’m not,” the president said during a meeting of his Cabinet at the White House.
“I’m the opposite of desperate, I don’t care … In fact, we have other targets we want to hit before we leave. We’re hitting them on a daily basis,” Trump added.
Trump also revealed the “very big present” from Iran he said earlier this week was a sign talks were progressing: 10 oil tankers were allowed safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
“I say they’re lousy fighters, but they’re great negotiators,” he said of the Iranians.
“And they are begging to work out a deal,” Trump said. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to do that. I don’t know if we’re willing to do that.”
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed during Thursday’s meeting that the U.S. presented Iran with a 15-point framework for a peace deal by way of Pakistan.
Witkoff did not provide any specifics on what is in the proposal, though sources previously told ABC News it addressed Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs as well as maritime routes.
“I can say this, we will see where things lead and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction,” Witkoff said. “We have strong signs that this is a possibility, and if a deal happens, it will be great for the country of Iran, for the entire region and the world at large.”
Iran responded to the plan through intermediaries overnight, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which quoted an informed source. Reuters reported that according to a senior Iranian official, Iran’s initial response to the U.S. proposal was that it was “one-sided and unfair.”
The administration now ramping up pressure on Iran to agree to a diplomatic off-ramp.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned on Wednesday: “President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again.”
President Trump earlier Thursday told Iran to “get serious, before it is too late.”
The first indication of new talks came from President Trump on Monday, as he announced he was postponing major attacks he’d threatened on Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days — until Friday — due to what he said were “very strong talks.”
Trump was asked Thursday about the status of that deadline, and whether it would be pushed back.
“I don’t know yet. I don’t know,” Trump said. He later added, “And we have a lot of time. You know what? It’s a day. In Trump time, a day, you know what it is, that’s an eternity.”
Hours later, Trump posted on social media that he was pushing the deadline to April 6.
“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time. Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” his post read.
Involved in negotiations are Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Trump.
Vance, during Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, emphasized the importance of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warned that there are “further military options” possible.
The U.S. is continuing to send thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East, and the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in supplemental funding as the conflict continues.
With the conflict in its fourth week, President Trump on Thursday continued to repeat the four-to-six-week timeline he estimated at the onset of the conflict and said the operation is “ahead of schedule.”
Trump said the war will “end soon” and once again referred to it as an “excursion” and a “little detour.”
Trump and his top officials have changed their rhetoric over the course of the conflict, first calling it a “war” but more recently calling it a “military operation.”
Trump acknowledged that inconsistency in remarks at the annual National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner on Wednesday night. He said the change was because of concerns that Congress has not authorized military action.
“I won’t use the word war, because they say if you use the word war, that’s maybe not a good thing to do. They don’t like the word war because you’re supposed to get approval. So, I’ll use the word military operation, which is really what it is,” the president said.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen speaks to the media the day after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back on his most aggressive threats over acquiring Greenland on January 22, 2026, in Nuuk, Greenland. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
(GREENLAND) — Greenland’s prime minister has rejected President Donald Trump’s offer to send a U.S. military hospital ship to Greenland, dismissing the proposal as uninvited and rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of how Nordic societies function.
“It’s a no thank you from here,” Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a statement Sunday. “President Trump’s idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. That is a deliberate choice — and a fundamental part of our society. That is not how it works in the USA, where it costs money to see a doctor.”
Trump made the announcement Saturday evening on his social media platform, posting alongside an illustration of the U.S. naval hospital ship USNS Mercy, saying, “We are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there. It’s on the way!!!”
On Saturday, a U.S. Navy sailor was medically evacuated from an American nuclear-powered submarine by Danish military forces, according to a U.S. and Danish official.
But what prompted Trump to float sending a hospital ship to Greenland isn’t clear, particularly given the Danish territory’s universal health system serving roughly 60,000 citizens. The White House did not return a request for comment.
Trump has long pushed the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland from Denmark, citing national security needs and tapping its natural resources, and has not ruled out taking it by military force over the heated objections of Greenlanders and the Danes. He said in January he had a framework of a deal with Denmark, Greenland and NATO, but revealed few details.
About 80% of Greenlanders have at least annual contact with a primary care doctor, according to data from Queen Ingrid Health Care Centre, the country’s main hospital hub. The figures are even higher for women: roughly 90% report regular contact, compared to 76% of men.
The U.S. Navy has two hospital ships, both currently in Mobile, Alabama, one of which is likely months away from being able to deploy. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The Mercy, whose homeport is San Diego, is a 1,000-bed hospital ship commissioned in 1986 and is deployed for disaster relief and other large-scale medical crises, including in 2020 when it deployed to Los Angeles, where the ship served as a floating relief valve for the city’s overburdened medical system during the first chaotic stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear whether it’s actually preparing to deploy to Greenland. The Navy did not immediately respond to a request for information on why it is in Mobile.
The Navy’s other hospital ship, the USNS Comfort is undergoing extensive maintenance in Mobile expected to last through April 26, according to the repair contract reviewed by ABC News.
Trump said he was working on the matter with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, whom he appointed as a special envoy to Greenland last year. While Landry served in the National Guard for 11 years, he has no significant foreign policy or health care experience.
“We are always open to dialogue and cooperation — also with the USA,” Nielsen said. “But please talk to us instead of just making more or less random statements on social media. Dialogue and cooperation require respect for the fact that decisions about our country are made here at home.”
The U.S. Capitol is seen on March 16, 2026, in Washington, DC. The U.S. House of Representatives postponed its votes for the day due to the chance of severe thunderstorms around the DC area. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats once again on Friday blocked a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security on Friday as they continue to insist on reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection in exchange for funding the agency.
It marks the fifth time since the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security — which began in mid-February — that the funding bill has failed to be advanced in the Senate.
The bill that Republicans put forward on Friday to fund all of DHS would have needed 60 votes to advance. It fell short by a vote of 47-37.
Parts of DHS — from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Transportation Security Administration — are shut down amid a funding fight over ICE.
Democrats have said they will fund the department only if changes are made to the agency in the wake of the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Democrats said that they will continue to block funding until their demands on body cameras, judicial warrants and unmasking officers are met.
“Democrats have been very clear what we are asking for here since late January, and our asks have not changed,” Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a speech on the Senate floor Friday.
There are signs of potential progress though as Border Czar Tom Homan met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday to discuss DHS funding, and Majority Leader John Thune told ABC News that there will be another meeting between lawmakers and Homan later Friday.
These meetings follow repeated demands by Democrats for the White House to engage in the negotiations over ICE reform.
Thune said that Friday’s meeting with Homan would be critical in determining whether there could be movement on funding.
“We’re going to find out if Dems are serious. There were a couple of areas yesterday that they had identified, in additions to some of the, you know, reforms the administration had recommended that to me could find a path forward,” Thune said. “The question is, are Dems serious? Or do they see this as a political issue and something that benefits them.”
Murray, who was part of the negotiations with Homan Thursday, said that the conversations were “productive,” but that the “basic challenges remain.” She said that Democrats remain “very far apart” from Republicans and the White House on a path forward.
With long airport security lines plaguing travelers across the country, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are feeling the heat to hammer out a deal.
“This needs to be resolved,” Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said. “I mean, there are genuine disputes about ICE reforms. I think no one wants to see a return of what we saw in Minneapolis. But that doesn’t mean we should be holding the rest of these federal employees hostage again.”
As negotiations continue there have been efforts by Democrats to fund other agencies in DHS other than ICE — like the Coast Guard, TSA, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. But Republicans have blocked those efforts, saying that Democrats need to negotiate a full funding package rather than taking a piecemeal approach.
“Democrats have tried again and again to get paychecks to TSA and CISA and the Coast Guard and FEMA — agencies that are doing really important work right now,” Murray said. “The only reason these workers are going without pay right now is because Republicans are holding their funding hostage so they can try to give ICE even more money without including any necessary reforms.”
While there is some FY2026 funding for ICE, the agency received a $75 billion infusion of funding over the next decade through the already-passed “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Democrats are expected to continue efforts to fund these agencies, including TSA, while negotiations proceed. But right now, it does not seem that Republicans are open to this approach.
