President Donald Trump has never been known for holding his tongue, but this time, it wasn’t just what he said that drew backlash — it was what he allowed to unfold around him, sitting back as a moment escalated without any attempt to rein it in.
The latest controversial scene was so egregious that the White House even removed the video from its website, but not before social media got hold of it.
One moment came during a White House Easter luncheon on Wednesday, April 1, where Trump, surrounded by allies and supporters, appeared content to let the tone of the room drift into territory that quickly left critics stunned.
As Trump looked on, senior adviser and White House Faith Office leader Paula White-Cain delivered a stunning comparison that immediately set off outrage, likening the president to Jesus in remarks many said crossed a line even by Trump-era standards.
“You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It’s a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us. …Sir, because of His resurrection, you rose up,” White-Cain declared while fawning over Trump, who did nothing to distance himself from the remarks.
The viral clip that was captured quickly spread online, with critics calling it deeply inappropriate and offensive, especially as Trump remained silent, allowing the comparison to stand unchallenged.
Former MSNBC commentator Mehdi Hasan summed up the reaction bluntly: “I feel embarrassed for a lot of Christians in this country.”
Rev. Benjamin Cremer was even more direct, “This is blasphemy. This is what it sounds like to take Jesus’ name in vain.”
But the controversy didn’t stop there.
At the same event, Trump delivered a series of remarks that only added fuel to the fire, pivoting from the spectacle in the room to a message that many critics said exposed a deeper disconnect between his rhetoric and the realities facing American families.
Speaking to attendees, Trump dismissed the rising cost of child care as something the federal government simply should not handle.
“We can’t take care of daycare,” Trump insisted. “We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare.”
Instead, Trump believes the state should take care of daycare. “They should pay,” he proclaimed. “They’ll have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up. It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things.”
The comments marked a sharp break from Trump’s own campaign promises, when he repeatedly described child care as a priority and suggested his economic policies would help ease the burden for working families.
During a 2024 appearance at the Economic Club of New York, Trump called child care a “very important issue,” adding, “In this country you have to have it,” while arguing that tariff revenue could help offset costs.
“As much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in,” he said at the time.
Now, with the U.S. engaged in an ongoing war with Iran and federal spending priorities shifting toward military operations, critics say those earlier promises are becoming harder to reconcile.
To suggest that states should shoulder more of the burden, even if it means raising taxes on working families, while preserving tax cuts for wealthier Americans and cutting more than a trillion dollars from safety net programs struck many as a contradiction.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has spent more than $38 billion on the Iran war so far, according to reports, a figure that has only intensified scrutiny of the administration’s priorities.
Social media erupted in outrage and disbelief over Trump’s latest contemptible rantings.
“He is an embarrassment,” X user Alli Olabisi stated about a meme showing Trump and a quote from former Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, including that Trump is “a weak man pretending to be strong” and a “faithless man pretending to be righteous.”
Another chimed in, “He promised with the money he was going to take in with tariffs that day care would be easy to take care of. He promised childcare for all saying it was relatively cheap. He lied again. All we get is wars, invasions, and stripped of our healthcare. #releasethetrumpsteinfiles.”
The social media user referring there to a 2024 appearance at the Economic Club of New York, where Trump described child care as a “very important issue,” according to MS Now, and that, “In this country you have to have it,” before suggesting his tariff policy would help pay for day care if he were re-elected.
“As much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in,” he told voters at the time.
Another angry X user pointed out, “He’s a piece of work. It’s the peoples money not his. The people need healthcare and help with certain expenses. If he’d stop golfing it would save $100,000,000 that could help with medicare!!!”
But this poster probably said it best, “Words spoken by the same guy who couldn’t see that attacking Iran would result in the closing of the Straight of Hormuz. No daycare, one parent has to stay home… less family income. He doesn’t understand how anything is connected. . . because he’s a moron.”
