After decades of treating Christianity as a punch line, Democrats suddenly became staunch defenders of traditionalism over the weekend — all thanks to President Donald Trump.

Late Friday, the White House’s official X account reposted an AI-generated image of Trump wearing papal vestments. The image was posted after Trump joked that he would “like to be pope,” a comment made one week before the Catholic Church’s cardinals convene the conclave to select Pope Francis’ successor.

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The AI image went not just viral but mega viral. By Monday morning, it had been viewed more than 100 million times on X alone.

Reaction to the image fell into four general buckets:

1. Catholics expressed outrage and offense at the image, suggesting that Trump or the White House was mocking their tradition, which could not come at a worse time as the church mourns Francis’ death and prepares to select a new pope.
2. Catholics and non-Catholic Christians thought the image was a joke and funny, not something to be upset about.
3. Critics of President Trump expressed outrage — as they do over anything Trump does.
4. Democrats, whose public policy subverts much of Christianity’s values, pearl-clutched.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is a prime example of No. 4.

“This is deeply offensive to me and to my fellow Catholics around the world as we continue to mourn our beloved Pope Francis,” Hochul responded.

That response, too, went viral, not because Hochul is perceived to be a coherent defender of Christianity and the Catholic faith but precisely the opposite: While she now wants to posture online to win brownie points with her progressive base, she has repeatedly mocked many of Christianity’s most important values.

Hochul, for example, supports radical abortion measures and has taken steps to reduce abortion regulations — even just weeks ago. Hochul has tried to force Catholics to violate their conscience, condemning them as “right-wing extremists,” Hochul opposes traditional marriage, supports trans-ing children, and weaponized Jesus to force people to get the COVID-19 shot.

But suddenly a meme is a moral crisis?

The truth is: Democrats treat Christianity — traditional, conservative, orthodox Christianity — as something to be mocked, condemned, and sidelined. That’s why Hochul’s sudden outrage doesn’t land; it’s not reverence but opportunism.

If a member of the LGBTQ community posted a picture of a drag queen in papal vestments, would Hochul be similarly outraged? She’d probably call it brave.

This is yet another example of a Democrat using Christianity to score political points. If Hochul truly respected Christianity and the Catholic tradition, her policies and values would reflect it.

In the end, it’s clear Trump wasn’t mocking the church. But he did manage to expose just how performative (and hypocritical) the left’s outrage is — and for that, we can be thankful.