Women’s sports advocate and conservative Christian Riley Gaines took the high road late Monday in responding to President Donald Trump.
Earlier on Monday, Gaines had criticized Trump for a controversial post on his social media platform Truth Social that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ, prompting Trump to lash out and declare himself “not a big fan” of Gaines.
“At the end of the day, I do nothing for the approval of man,” Gaines responded on the social media platform X.
On balance, the former collegiate swimmer stood her ground while adopting a largely magnanimous tone.
“I love the President and I’m so grateful he’s in the Oval Office. Of course, I’ll continue to support him and the America First agenda,” she began.
After declaring that she does not seek man’s approval, Gaines then wrote that we must glorify God in all we do, and she commended the president for deleting the post.
“We’re imperfect people,” she added. “I know I am. I don’t get my feelings hurt easy and I know with the President it’s really not personal.”
Gaines then expressed hope that she will see Trump in heaven one day.
“Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life,” she wrote. “I’ll keep doing my part by speaking truth & doing my best to lead others to Christ.”
I love the President and I’m so grateful he’s in the Oval Office. Of course, I’ll continue to support him and the America First agenda.
At the end of the day, I do nothing for the approval of man. Our purpose on this earth is to glorify Him in all we do. The truth social post…
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 14, 2026
In a Monday phone interview with CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell, Trump explained that the AI-generated image of him looking like a caricature of Jesus had blown up into a controversy simply because of confusion.
“I viewed that as a picture of me being a doctor in fixing — you had the Red Cross right there, you had, you know, medical people surrounding me. And I was like the doctor, you know, as a little fun playing the doctor and making people better. So that’s what it was viewed as. That’s what most people thought,” he insisted.
“Normally I don’t like doing that,” the president said of his decision to delete the post, “but I didn’t want to have anybody be confused. People were confused.”
Then, when asked if criticism from Gaines and others prompted the deletion, Trump got personal.
“I didn’t listen to Riley Gaines,” the president said. “I’m not a big fan of Riley, actually.”
Meanwhile, most X users subjected Gaines to substantial criticism for her continued support of Trump. Some, in fact, likened the former collegiate athlete to a “battered woman.”
Spoken like a battered woman. My goodness at least if he was your man I could understand.
— ThatGirlCasey☄️ (@ThatGirlCasey1) April 14, 2026
It’s like listening to a battered woman make excuses for her husband’s bad behavior
— C.Moose (@moose_cour2185) April 14, 2026
Others leveled broader criticism.
He doesn’t give a crap about you if you dont unquestionably support everything he says and does.
MAGA is dead
— Evan Kilgore 🇺🇸 (@EvanAKilgore) April 14, 2026
He threw you under the bus. Stop excusing an insane con man who has a habit of destroying everyone around him.
— HealthRanger (@HealthRanger) April 14, 2026
Not only did he commit blasphemy, but he also said he doesn’t like you
Yet here you are cheerleading for a man who spits not only on you, but also on what you presumably revere most
Trump only reveres himself, but he can obviously rely on sycophants with 0 self-respect like you
— Ismail Lamie (@ismail_lamie) April 14, 2026
Trump also incurred disapproval from Christians for a profane post on Easter morning.
In part as a response to that criticism, the president went on Truth Social and attacked Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones — all conservative and anti-establishment podcasters who, to varying degrees, have supported Trump in the past but who, in recent months, have denounced his policies in the Middle East.
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