Conservative influencer Emily Austin on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump after he shared an artificial intelligence-generated image that portrayed him as a Christ-like figure, arguing the president didn’t lie in claiming he thought it depicted him as a doctor.

Austin, who debated the matter during a CNN panel discussion on “NewsNight” after widespread criticism led Trump to delete the post, said, “I don’t think Trump lied about the post, and I’m not here to defend every action that he makes.”

Austin did just that when asked if she believed Trump misinterpreted the image.

“I want to tell you that Trump didn’t AI that photo,” Austin told fellow panelist and “View” co-host Ana Navarro. “The original post, was it Nick Adams who posted it originally? So, he posted that many, many months ago, calling Trump the healer of the nation.”

She continued, “Now, I’m not crazy. I have eyes. I could see how people are like, ‘Oh, Trump is portraying himself as Jesus Christ.’ But, A, he took it down. B, this isn’t really that surprising to anyone. And, C, that’s not— if the person who created the photo is denying that—”

MAGA influencer Nick Adams posted the original version in February, writing at the time, “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.” It showed a robed Trump placing his hand on a so-called suffering man as Americans watched in awe.

When asked if she finds it blasphemous, Austin suggested Trump did not “intentionally” portray himself as Jesus. Former Trump White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews asked one more time whether Austin believed it portrayed him as a doctor.

“Oh, as a healer of the nation?” Austin replied. “That’s what the guy who had created it said.”

Matthews then pointed out that neither Adams nor Trump could “identify” the symbolism in the image, leading Austin to acknowledge, “I think he did, and that’s why he deleted it.” She later tried to pivot, arguing there are “bigger things in the world to talk about.”

That didn’t work for fellow panelist Bakari Sellers or “NewsNight” host Abby Phillip, who said this “healer of the nation thing” doesn’t “absolve” Trump. Phillip added that the picture appears to portray him “dressed like Jesus with an aura around his hands.”

Sellers, a Democrat and former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, called out Trump supporters who are seemingly incapable of stating, “Donald Trump was wrong.” To which Austin claimed she’s done so “plenty of times,” but that didn’t satisfy Sellers.

“No, on this,” he told Austin. “No, on this particular issue, Donald Trump was wrong. He should not have done it. It’s not about him taking it down. Be able to have the audacity and courage to call him out and say it was wrong.”

Austin responded, “OK, let me say this: It wasn’t smart to post.”

“Oh, my God,” said Sellers.

It was then that Austin said, “He took it — it was wrong to post. He took it down.”

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.