The US president stated he doesn’t favor any particular candidate to replace the deceased Pope Francis.
In response to a question about who might succeed the late Pope Francis, US President Donald Trump jokingly expressed his own interest in the position.
“I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice,” the president joked, before stating he had “no preference” regarding the actual candidates.
Trump also mentioned, “We have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York, who is very good.”
He didn’t specify who he was referring to. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who has been the Archbishop of New York since 2009, became a Cardinal in 2012.
Reporter: Who do you want to be the next Pope?
Trump: “I’d like to be Pope. That’d be my number one choice.”🤡
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump)
Pope Francis died at 88 years old on April 21, one day after greeting worshippers on Easter Sunday at St. Peter’s Square. Trump, along with other global leaders, attended the Pope’s funeral at the Vatican.
Francis, whose given name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was elected pope in March 2013, making him the first Jesuit and the first Latin American to head the Catholic Church. A meeting of 135 cardinals is scheduled to take place at the Vatican on May 7 to choose his replacement.