Trump shares claim he is 'heaven sent' and suggests Obama 'kicked Jesus out' of US

Donald Trump has promoted a post claiming he is “heaven sent” and suggesting Barack Obama “kicked” Jesus out of the US in a string of tweets just days after Christmas.

The president spent some of his Friday evening retweeting praise for himself, including one post from January 2018 with a picture of a man who appears to be Jesus Christ and a caption saying: “Obama kicked me out. Trump invited me back.”

“I truly believe this man was heaven sent in order to save and protect the most gracious, benevolent, and in turn, prosperous country ever,” the caption to the post said, referring to the president.

Download the new Indpendent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Mr Trump's decision to share the post follows a number of current and former Trump administration officials who have suggested the president was sent by God.

The suggestion about Jesus Christ, a man who is thought to have been from the Middle East, also comes as refugee resettlement in the US has dropped to “historic lows” during the Trump presidency.

Shape Created with Sketch. Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Show all 29 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves 1/29 Trump styles his 'You're fired!' pose in his Trump Tower office in June 2012. At the time he was known as a reality TV star on The Apprentice Diane Bondareff/Invision/AP 2/29 He was also well known as the patron of the Miss Universe competition Getty 3/29 Early signs of Trump's ambition for the presidency can be found everywhere. Not least in his 2011 book 'Time to get tough: Making America #1 again' Getty 4/29 Trump with Piers Morgan in November 2010. Piers Morgan has long held that he and Trump are good friends Getty 5/29 Trump appeared on Fox & Friends, his favourite show, in August 2011 Getty 6/29 Trump considered running in the 2012 election, where he would have faced Barack Obama. He is speaking here at an event for a Republican women's group Getty 7/29 Trump was subject to a Comedy Central roast in 2011. He is pictured here being roasted by rapper Snoop Dogg Getty 8/29 Given that this Trump store is in the lobby of Trump Tower, it can be said that Trump sells merchandise of himself out of his own home Getty 9/29 Trump held meetings with prominent Republicans when considering his 2012 bid. He is pictured here with Alaska governor Sarah Palin Getty 10/29 He didn't end up running in 2012 afterall, instead endorsing Republican candidate Mitt Romney AFP/Getty 11/29 Trump's golf course in Aberdeen proved controversial in 2012 when he began lobbying the Scottish government against wind power in order that they wouldn't install turbines off the shore by his new course Getty 12/29 He even gave evidence to a Scottish parliamentary committee discouraging wind energy AFP/Getty 13/29 He still found time for a round of course AFP/Getty 14/29 On 16 June 2015, Trump announced that he would run for the presidency of the United States in the 2016 election as a Republican Getty 15/29 His campaign was divisive, courting controversy wherever he went. Ultimately he was declared the Republican candidate in June 2016 Getty 16/29 Trump took part in the TV debate against opponent Hillary Clinton on 9 October Getty 17/29 Trump and wife Melania vote in the presidential election on 8 November 2016 AFP/Getty 18/29 Hillary Clinton conceded defeat at 2:50am on 9 November and president-elect Trump swiftly delivered his victory speech to a crowd of supporters Getty 19/29 News coverage around the world focused on the huge political upset that Trump's victory spelled AFP/Getty 20/29 Trump met with president Obama to discusss transition planning on 10 November. Obama had fiercely denounced Trump during the election campaign, at one point even swearing that he would not leave the White House if Trump won AFP/Getty 21/29 Donald Trump and Nigel Farage pose in the golden elevator at Trump Tower on 12 November 2016. Farage was the first British politician to meet with Trump after the election LeaveEUOffical/Twitter 22/29 The inauguration of Donald Trump took place on 20 January 2017. Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer boasted that the crowd was the 'largest ever' to witness an inauguration, a claim that was proved not to be true Getty 23/29 In his first 100 days as leader, Trump signed 24 executve orders, the most of any president AFP/Getty 24/29 One of Trump's most memorable election pledges was to build a wall between the US and Mexico. He is standing here in front of a prototype for a section of the wall Getty 25/29 Trump's meetings with other world leaders have provided no short supply of photo opportunities Getty 26/29 Trump was welcomed to the UK by the Queen and a state banquet was held at Buckingham Palace in his honour Reuters 27/29 Not everyone welcomed the president. Mass protests were held in London throughout his visits in both 2018 and 2019 EPA 28/29 One of the most significant meetings Trump has held with another leader was with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. In June 2019, Trump became the first sitting president to set foot in North Korea Getty 29/29 2020 will see president Trump fight for a second term in office, who knows what the next decade will bring? Getty 1/29 Trump styles his 'You're fired!' pose in his Trump Tower office in June 2012. At the time he was known as a reality TV star on The Apprentice Diane Bondareff/Invision/AP 2/29 He was also well known as the patron of the Miss Universe competition Getty 3/29 Early signs of Trump's ambition for the presidency can be found everywhere. Not least in his 2011 book 'Time to get tough: Making America #1 again' Getty 4/29 Trump with Piers Morgan in November 2010. Piers Morgan has long held that he and Trump are good friends Getty 5/29 Trump appeared on Fox & Friends, his favourite show, in August 2011 Getty 6/29 Trump considered running in the 2012 election, where he would have faced Barack Obama. He is speaking here at an event for a Republican women's group Getty 7/29 Trump was subject to a Comedy Central roast in 2011. He is pictured here being roasted by rapper Snoop Dogg Getty 8/29 Given that this Trump store is in the lobby of Trump Tower, it can be said that Trump sells merchandise of himself out of his own home Getty 9/29 Trump held meetings with prominent Republicans when considering his 2012 bid. He is pictured here with Alaska governor Sarah Palin Getty 10/29 He didn't end up running in 2012 afterall, instead endorsing Republican candidate Mitt Romney AFP/Getty 11/29 Trump's golf course in Aberdeen proved controversial in 2012 when he began lobbying the Scottish government against wind power in order that they wouldn't install turbines off the shore by his new course Getty 12/29 He even gave evidence to a Scottish parliamentary committee discouraging wind energy AFP/Getty 13/29 He still found time for a round of course AFP/Getty 14/29 On 16 June 2015, Trump announced that he would run for the presidency of the United States in the 2016 election as a Republican Getty 15/29 His campaign was divisive, courting controversy wherever he went. Ultimately he was declared the Republican candidate in June 2016 Getty 16/29 Trump took part in the TV debate against opponent Hillary Clinton on 9 October Getty 17/29 Trump and wife Melania vote in the presidential election on 8 November 2016 AFP/Getty 18/29 Hillary Clinton conceded defeat at 2:50am on 9 November and president-elect Trump swiftly delivered his victory speech to a crowd of supporters Getty 19/29 News coverage around the world focused on the huge political upset that Trump's victory spelled AFP/Getty 20/29 Trump met with president Obama to discusss transition planning on 10 November. Obama had fiercely denounced Trump during the election campaign, at one point even swearing that he would not leave the White House if Trump won AFP/Getty 21/29 Donald Trump and Nigel Farage pose in the golden elevator at Trump Tower on 12 November 2016. Farage was the first British politician to meet with Trump after the election LeaveEUOffical/Twitter 22/29 The inauguration of Donald Trump took place on 20 January 2017. Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer boasted that the crowd was the 'largest ever' to witness an inauguration, a claim that was proved not to be true Getty 23/29 In his first 100 days as leader, Trump signed 24 executve orders, the most of any president AFP/Getty 24/29 One of Trump's most memorable election pledges was to build a wall between the US and Mexico. He is standing here in front of a prototype for a section of the wall Getty 25/29 Trump's meetings with other world leaders have provided no short supply of photo opportunities Getty 26/29 Trump was welcomed to the UK by the Queen and a state banquet was held at Buckingham Palace in his honour Reuters 27/29 Not everyone welcomed the president. Mass protests were held in London throughout his visits in both 2018 and 2019 EPA 28/29 One of the most significant meetings Trump has held with another leader was with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. In June 2019, Trump became the first sitting president to set foot in North Korea Getty 29/29 2020 will see president Trump fight for a second term in office, who knows what the next decade will bring? Getty

Data from the State Department shows that the US is no longer the world’s top country for refugee admissions after substantial declines since Mr Trump’s inauguration, according to the Pew Research Centre.

The president added a comment of “Thank you!” to the post, which he has also shared on his Instagram account.

In November, Rick Perry, the US secretary of energy, described Mr Trump as the “chosen one” and said he had told the president that he was picked by God to rule.

Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, followed Mr Perry with similar comments and claimed Mr Trump’s election showed “everything happens for a reason”.

“I think God sometimes places people for lessons and sometimes places people for change,” Ms Haley said.

Independent news email Only the best news in your inbox Enter your email address Continue Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid Email already exists. Log in to update your newsletter preferences Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email Update newsletter preferences

“And you can look at everything that has happened [in Mr Trump’s presidency], and I think we are seeing a lot of changes, and I think we are gaining a lot of lessons.”

Sarah Sanders, the former White House press secretary, has also claimed God “wanted Donald Trump to become president”.

In August, Mr Trump promoted a claim that Jewish people in Israel love him as if he is the “King of Israel” and like he is “the second coming of God”.

However, the president’s spiritual credibility has been called into question in recent days.

Earlier this month, the religious magazine Christianity Today backed Mr Trump’s impeachment and called for evangelicals to examine their “unconditional loyalty” to his presidency.

The magazine’s stance provoked an angry response from the president, who accused the publication of being part of the “far left” on Twitter.