'It was me as a doctor': Trump rushes to deny messiah complex after Christian outrage

President Donald Trump admitted Monday to posting an image on social media that appeared to depict him as a Jesus Christ-like figure, but disputed its widely perceived meaning when pressed on the matter by a reporter.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump told a reporter at the White House Monday when pressed about the image, described by the reporter as depicting the president “as Jesus Christ.”

“Only the fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it and I said 'how did they come up with that?' It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better! And I do make people better, I make people a lot better!”

Trump faced swift backlash for having shared the image late Sunday night, including from many of his own supporters, some of whom called the image “blasphemous.” The president drew further scrutiny after it was discovered that the image included a “demonic” alteration.

Trump ultimately deleted the post that included the image, though did not explain why.