President Donald Trump is once again comparing himself to legendary figures, this time the Greek mythological character Atlas.
On Saturday, Trump posted what appears to be an AI-generated image depicting himself literally holding the world on his shoulders. He is on one knee and is draped in an American flag.
The image appears to be a reference to Atlas, the Titan from Greek mythology tasked with holding the celestial spheres on his shoulders. Later depictions — and those most people are familiar with — depict him holding the Earth.
Presumably, Trump’s intention here is to suggest he, like Atlas, must take on the burden of supporting the entire world on his own. In Greek myth, Atlas’s eternal labor was actually a punishment for joining with other Titans in rebellion against the Olympian gods.
The post had no caption, so it’s unclear what he meant to communicate with the image. The post was made a day after U.S. forces launched an attack against drone storage sites in Iran. The attack appears to be a retaliatory act following an attack on a commercial shipping vessel that was moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also posted an image on Saturday comparing himself at age 20 to former President Barack Obama at age 18. The photo he chose of himself shows him in 1964 in a military-style uniform while he attended the New York Military Academy.
The photo he chose of Obama showed the former president with a marijuana joint in his mouth. The photo was taken during his time at Occidental College.
The Independent has requested comment from the White House.
It’s not the first time Trump has posted an image seemingly comparing himself to a god-like figure. Earlier this year, he had to explain why he posted an image on Truth Social that appeared to depict him as Jesus healing a sick man.
The bizarre image featured Trump in a white clerical robe with a red priest’s stole draped around his neck. Light is emanating from his hands and he is reaching down with his right hand to presumably heal or bless a sick man in a hospital bed. A nurse, a woman, a veteran and a U.S. service member stare on in awe. A group of what appear to be U.S. soldiers — including one that looks like they’re wearing a mech suit — are floating over his head in the sun. Three jets race overhead, including two that look as though they’re about to collide.
The AI-generated image enraged even some Republicans, who saw it as sacrilege for the president to so directly compare himself to Jesus.
“This goes too far. It crosses the line,” David Brody, a journalist with the Christian Broadcasting Network, wrote at the time. “A supporter can back the mission and reject this.”
After deleting the image, Trump was asked what it was meant to convey, and insisted he never intended to compare himself with Jesus, instead saying he thought the picture was showing him as a doctor.
“It’s supposed to be as a doctor making people better,” he said at the time. “And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”
He explained why he deleted the image to CBS News, saying he “didn’t want to have anybody be confused” by the image.
“People were confused,” he said.
