White House 'nut' inspired Trump’s infamous 'Jesus meme': report

U.S. President Donald Trump checks his hair before sitting down for a podcast interview at the Varsity restaurant, in Rome, Georgia, U.S., February 19, 2026. REUTERS Kevin Lamarque

President Donald Trump may have posted a meme of himself as Jesus Christ at the urging of an adviser previously referred to by other Republicans as a “nut.”

“Before President Trump posted an image of him as a Christ-like healer, he discussed the meme with his controversial housing finance chief Bill Pulte,” Axios journalist Marc Caputo wrote on Wednesday. Both Trump and Pulte declined to comment to Axios, although a third adviser friendly to Pulte denied the accusation to Axios.

“Trump was in South Florida over the weekend and the two spent time together, according to two advisers who spoke to the president about the image,” Axios reported. “At some point, Pulte brought the image to Trump's attention, the advisers told Axios. It's not clear whether he just displayed the rendering on his phone or actually sent it to the president.”

The meme was widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike, with both sides characterizing it as both disrespectful to Christianity and indicative of Trump potentially experiencing cognitive decline. It does not help that the person who allegedly suggested he post the meme is Pulte, who aroused controversy last year for being connected to an alleged attempt to get the Justice Department to investigate mortgage and tax fraud against former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California. A wealthy real estate developer who Trump put in charge of the powerful Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to develop public housing policy, Pulte is regarded as extremely conservative as well as volatile and eccentric.

“I think he’s a nut,” one House Republican recently told Politico about Pulte, who has caused friction in the Washington bureaucracy with his fiery personality and assistance in the president’s campaigns against Federal Reserve figures like Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent reportedly threatened to punch Pulte in the face at a recent Washington dinner party, with other Republicans reportedly approving Bessent’s outburst.

“The guy’s just a little too big for his britches,” one lawmaker said.

On another occasion in November Pulte was reportedly in danger of losing his job for his role in convincing Trump to push a 50-year mortgages plan.

"The thing that became clear from this latest episode — if it wasn’t already clear — is that Bill Pulte doesn’t know the first f— — thing about how the mortgage markets operate," a source claimed. "After publicly humiliating the president with his moronic 50-year mortgage plan it’s safe to assume that his days are numbered.”

The FHFA told Politico in response to the Bessent story that “lobbyists’ anonymous sources will not deter Director Pulte from working with the entire administration to ensure a competitive, safe, and sound mortgage market.”

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