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U.S. President Donald Trump has a possible recommendation for the upcoming papal conclave—himself.
Joking with reporters who asked him what his pick for the next pope would be, Trump said, “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
This conversation took place on the White House’s lawn after Pope Francis’ funeral over the weekend.
- President Trump joked he’d like to be the next pope.
- Trump mentioned Cardinal Timothy Dolan from New York as a strong candidate in the upcoming papal election.
- Pope Francis died on April 21, and the papal conclave will select his successor starting May 7.
Trump followed up his quip with a more serious answer: “I have no preference. I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Donald Trump joked with reporters that he’d like to be chosen as the next pope
Image credits: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
The cardinal Trump referred to is Timothy Dolan. He was a participant in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis, and recently led Pope Francis’ funeral mass service in New York City on Saturday, April 26.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died on Easter Monday (April 21) after a stroke and heart failure.
Pope Francis was widely known as the People’s Pope, admired by Catholics around the globe.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called him a champion of “the poor, the downtrodden, and the forgotten.”
The papal conclave, the process to select the new Pope, will begin on May 7, the Vatican confirmed.
More than 100 cardinals will be present to start the secret vote to choose the next Pope.
The Vatican’s process to choose the next pope will begin on May 7, with over 100 cardinals casting their votes
Image credits: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk / Flickr
But, not everyone can be a candidate. There are clear rules.
The formal conditions require that they should be baptized in the Catholic Church, be male, and unmarried.
The new pope must also be at least 35 years old and have studied the Bible, theology, or church law.
Even if he were serious about wanting to be the next pope, Trump would not meet most of the requirements. He is not Catholic, nor is he a priest.
Left: President Trump at Pope Francis’s funeral
Right: Pope Francis saying Donald Trump isn’t Christian because he thinks of building walls not bridges, followed by Trump calling Pope Francis disgraceful pic.twitter.com/CotC7mkSNH
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) April 26, 2025
His wife, Melania, is Catholic and attended the pope’s funeral along with the U.S. president.
Trump was also caught in a social media controversy after wearing a blue suit to the pope’s funeral.
In line with Catholic customs, mourners are expected to wear black.
Donald Trump is asked why he decided to go to the Pope Francis’ funeral.
He starts babbling about how he won the Catholic vote and made it all about himself like a quintessential narcissist. pic.twitter.com/UOR0oXvHV3
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) April 25, 2025
Senator Lindsey Graham supported Trump on social media, calling him a “dark horse candidate” and encouraging the Catholic Church to keep an open mind.
Experts say an American pope is unlikely
Image credits: Vatican Pool / Getty Images
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!
The first Pope-U.S. President combination has… pic.twitter.com/MM9vE5Uvzb
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 29, 2025
As for the upcoming conclave, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne expects that the upcoming papal vote will likely take longer than the one that elected Pope Francis in just two days in 2013.
Woelki stressed that this is a spiritual process, not a political one, and that cardinals are praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit to choose the right person to lead the Catholic Church.
While Trump dreams of an American pope, according to interviews with experts by People, this is highly unlikely. There has never been a pope from the U.S.
The interviews shed light on this possibility, citing that the U.S. is already too powerful for the pope to be American.
Further, Dolan is close to conservatives, and has been outspoken about his anti-immigration stance.
His selection as pope would make Catholics “very upset,” said Anthea Butler, a professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Pope Francis had appointed 108 of the cardinals who will be voting at the conclave—many of whom share the late pope’s progressive—by Catholic standards—views.
Regardless, the upcoming conclave features one of the most diverse group of cardinals from around the world to date, including cardinals from developing nations.
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