4 times Barack Obama likened to Jesus, the Messiah: ‘This is the New Testament’

Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a public memorial service to celebrate the life of civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago, Illinois, on March 6, 2026. Jackson, one of the nation’s most influential black voices, died on Feb. 17, 2026, at the age of 84. Jackson, a Baptist minister, had been a civil rights leader since the 1960s, when he marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and helped fundraise for the cause. | Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump has received considerable backlash this week from friend and foe alike for sharing a meme generated by artificial intelligence depicting him in a white robe healing a bedridden man. While critics blasted the meme as “blasphemy” for portraying Trump as Jesus, the president insisted that he thought he was supposed to be a doctor in the meme even after he deleted it.

Trump’s social media post is not the first time the depiction of a political leader as Jesus Christ or the Messiah has generated outrage. Former President Barack Obama was frequently portrayed as a Christ-like figure during his 2008 presidential campaign and throughout his presidency. Here are four examples.