Almost every day, through his Truth Social network, in the Oval Office, in interviews, or on Air Force One, Donald Trump makes unusual and exaggerated statements. However, what he said this Tuesday about wanting to “be a pope,” even if he was joking, seems to be beyond any norm.
During a press conversation at the White House before heading to a political event in Michigan to commemorate his first 100 days in office, Trump, who is not Catholic, was asked who he would like to see as the new pontiff and answered: “As pope? I’d like to be pope, that would be my number one choice.”
A Republican senator supports Trump as pope
The statement had immediate repercussions in the political sphere.
The Republican senator Lindsey Graham reacted with a post on social media X, in which he expressed: “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 many upsides. Watching for white smoke…Trump MMXXVIII!”.
It is not clear if Graham, a conservative senator and member of a Baptist church in South Carolina, was also joking.
Trump mentions a cardinal from New York
After saying he would like to be pope, Trump clarified that he does not have a clear preference on who should lead the Catholic Church after the next conclave. However, he highlighted the figure of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the current Archbishop of New York, by saying, "I must say that we have a cardinal who happens to be from a place called New York, who is very good. So we will see what happens."
Although Dolan is 75 years old and therefore meets the conditions to be “papable,” he is not among the main candidates for the conclave that will begin on May 7th in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.
According to specialized press, the main candidates are Italian Pietro Parolin, Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, and Guinean Robert Sarah.