Trump Wants To Be 'The Next Pope' — The Don Admits He Would Be His 'Number One Choice' To Lead The Catholic Church After Attending Pope Francis' Funeral in Rome
April 30 2025, Published 1:53 p.m. ET
Donald Trump has joked that he wants to go from Mr. President to His Holiness, RadarOnline.com can report.
Trump had his own unique response when asked who he thinks should be the next leader of the Catholic church.
Trump took questions outside the White House.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump was asked who he thinks should be the next pope, after Pope Francis' death early this month.
And in pure Trump fashion, he threw his own papal hat into the ring.
"I'd like to be pope," Trump joked. "That'd be my number one choice."
After a smattering of laughs, Trump, who is not Christian, did have a suggestion: "I don't know. I don't have a preference. I might say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who is very good. So we'll see what happens."
Trump was referring to the Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who reportedly is on the short list of candidates to be considered next month when cardinals elect the next pope at a specially convened papal conclave.
Pope Francis passed away April 21.
He may have been joking, but senior Republican leaders are taking the suggestion seriously.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted: "I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!"
He continued: "The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!"
Trump may not get to be Pope, but he was granted a prime seat at Pope Francis' funeral – after pulling some political strings.
As RadarOnline.com revealed, the president secured his highly coveted front-row seat only by making it a condition of his attendance.
A diplomatic source claimed: "He made it very clear before he even agreed to travel: front row or no show. If they had said no, he wasn't coming. Period."
Insiders claimed the leader of the U.S. "strong-armed" the Vatican into making an exception to their alphabetized seating arrangement.
One official claimed: "They knew he would turn it into an international incident if he wasn't treated like a king. They decided it was better to just give him what he wanted and avoid a spectacle."
The seating stunt, however, hasn't gone unnoticed inside Vatican circles.
Another senior source confessed: "It was humiliating. We bent the rules because we knew he'd make a scene. This wasn't about honoring the Pope – it was about feeding Trump's ego."
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President Trump was also accused of breaking the dress code at the funeral after he arrived wearing a blue suit and a blue tie.
The strict dress code for the event at the Vatican stated that men should wear a dark suit with a long black tie and white shirt. Shoes, long socks, coats and umbrellas also had to be black. Almost every other attendee at the event wore black.
Many also speculated the president fell asleep during the somber ceremony.
First Lady Melania Trump sat beside her husband on her 55th birthday and wore a conservative black coat with a lace veil and gloves.
