On Friday, Donald Trump used Truth Social to share an AI photo of himself impersonating the Pope. The Trump pope image quickly sparked a barrage of backlash and even some praise on social media. On April 21, Pope Francis passed away, and millions of Catholics across the world have been mourning the loss. Pope Francis’s death was reportedly caused by complications of a stroke, followed by a coma and then irreversible cardio-circulatory collapse.
Pope Francis Laid To Rest
Pope Francis’ funeral was held on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the funeral. His body was laid to rest in Rome at St. Mary Major. Pope Francis was well known for his kind heart and views on the LGBTQ+ community. On Friday morning, at 10:29, Trump shared the AI-created Trump Pope photo without any type of caption. This is not the first time that Trump has hinted that he would like to be appointed pope.
Trump Pope
Last week, when Trump was asked who he felt should succeed Pope Francis, he said, “I’d like to be pope.” This week, he shared the Trump Pope image, pushing the idea again. On Wednesday, he told reporters, “That would be my number one choice. No, I don’t know; I have no preference. … I must say, we have a cardinal [Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York since 2009] that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good. So, we’ll see what happens.”
Response To Trump Pope
The Trump Pope image quickly drew a lot of criticism and some praise. Comedian Terrance K. Williams used X to share his reaction, posting, “Pope Trump… LoL our President just posted this. He’s trolling because he knows the media is going to flip out. Love it, actually, I love the sound of King Trump, the first of his name.”
“The guy who broke all 10 commandments is posting pictures of himself cosplaying as the next Pope,” posted Melanie D’Arrigo, the executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Vatican has shared that there is a handful of candidates, and to Trump’s dismay, Trump Pope does not appear to be on the list. Social media has been invested in who will replace Pope Francis. The situation has also brought big business to betting sites.
Marco Rubio Jokes About Being Pope
On Thursday, while appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a quip about being pope. “You don’t have to be a priest. Any—people don’t know that. Any unmarried Catholic male can be pope, but I got married and I’m happily married, so I guess I’ll miss out on that one,” Rubio said.
What People Are Saying
On Tuesday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham used X to support Trump’s hope of being pope. “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 many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!”
Conclave
The process to determine the new pope is called a conclave, and it begins on Wednesday. A conclave is the way a pope has been elected for centuries. Once the Cardinals begin the conclave, they have no contact with the outside world after the master of the ceremony says the words “Extra Omnes,” which in Latin means “all out.” They will remain in the conclave until a vote elects the next pope.
