GOP insiders furious as Trump sabotages economic message

President Donald Trump is proving to be his own administration's worst enemy, according to a new piece from The Hill, with his social media religious scandals distracting from the White House's attempt to create a positive spin on the economy and the war with Iran.In a report published Thursday morning, The Hill broke down how Trump's continued sharing of AI-generated images of himself as or alongside Jesus has stoked a massive and sustained controversy, especially among his more evangelical followers. The president initially created a firestorm when he shared an image of himself as a Christlike figure on Truth Social, with the blowback forcing him to make a rare retreat and delete the post. He doubled down a couple of days later, however, sharing a different image of himself being embraced by Jesus, all while his administration was attempting to spin a positive message for Tax Day."The White House marked Tax Day by putting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler front and center at the press briefing Wednesday," The Hill explained. "The effort was likely intended to serve as an appetizer of sorts for Trump, who will travel west later this week to tout his tax agenda and address a crowd of young conservatives at a Turning Point USA event. But the tax message was largely drowned out Wednesday by distractions of Trump’s own making — including a new AI photo of Jesus Christ, this time showing him embracing Trump."The situation was worsened by a different sort of religious provocation, as Trump also continued his one-sided feud against Pope Leo XIV, attacking the Catholic leader for his statements opposing the war in Iran. He was backed up in his attacks by the likes of House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance, the latter having recently made a lot of noise about his late-in-life conversion to Catholicism. According to The Hill, these antics are causing yet more frustration among GOP insiders as the party grapples with what is sure to be a bruising midterm election cycle."The distractions are frustrating to GOP donors, strategists and lawmakers, who feel they aren’t helpful in a midterm election year where Republicans are trying to hold on to majorities in the House and Senate," The Hill added. "It’s a situation made worse by the issue of affordability, where Trump was having problems even before the Iran war, which has raised prices at the pump."“Voters are focused on the economy in general,” Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor, told the outlet. “GOP candidates need Trump’s head in the game.”