President Donald Trump joked that he would “like to be pope” when asked who would succeed the late Pope Francis, clarifying that he does not have “a preference.”
Catholic cardinals say the Conclave, which will select the next pope, will begin on May 7, just a few weeks after Francis died following Easter Sunday. Just before heading to Michigan, Trump took several questions from reporters, one of which was related to who could be the next pope.
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“I’d like to be pope!” Trump joked. “That would be my No. 1 choice! No, I don’t know, 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.”
.@POTUS: "I'd like to be pope." ????
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 29, 2025
"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." pic.twitter.com/WPdRPwHxP9
Trump’s latter remark referenced New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who earned his title within the Catholic Church in 2009 from former Pope Benedict XVI.
Multiple names have been considered for Francis’s successor, including Cardinals Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, Luis Tagle from the Philippines, and Péter Erdő from Hungary.
PAPAL PUNDITRY KICKS IN OVER WHO WILL SUCCEED POPE FRANCIS
Trump is visiting Michigan on Tuesday to attend a rally celebrating his 100th day in office. Michigan is a state he won in 2016 and 2024. The rally is being held at Macomb Community College at 6 p.m. EST.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent in the 2024 election, is spending Tuesday giving her first major speech since leaving office to Emerge, an organization that seeks out Democratic women who pursue office.