Donald Trump’s Surprising Answer to the Question Everyone’s Waiting For: ‘Who Should Be Next Pope?’

So, here we are—Pope Francis has sadly shuffled off this mortal coil, and now the Cardinals of the Catholic Church are gearing up to pick the next big guy in white. But guess what? If they’re looking for a little help narrowing down the shortlist, none other than Donald Trump has stepped up to offer his “number one choice.” Spoiler alert: it’s not who you might expect—because Trump himself threw his hat in the papal ring, claiming he’d do a bang-up job as the next Pope. Now, I’m wondering—how often does the leader of the free world volunteer to take over the Vatican? And does the absence of a Catholic membership card really put a damper on that ambition? With the cardinals meeting soon in the Sistine Chapel to make this earth-shaking decision, things just got a little more interesting—and a heck of a lot more entertaining. Buckle up. LEARN MORE.

If the Cardinals of the Catholic Church need some help shortlisting people to become the next Pope, Donald Trump has got some ideas.

The US President, 78, has revealed who his ‘number one choice’ to replace the late Pope Francis is – and you probably won’t be that surprised by his answer.

He reckons he knows the perfect candidate to step into the huge shoes that the 88-year-old pontiff has left to fill following his death on Easter Monday (21 April).

Pope Francis, whose real name was Jorge Mario Bergolio, sadly passed away after suffering a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.

He was hailed as the ‘People’s Pope’ by Catholics around the world, while Sir Keir Starmer described him as a pontiff for ‘the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten’ in wake of his passing.

Needless to say, Bergolio’s successor has a challenging legacy to live up to.

Donald Trump, pictured with Pope Francis in 2017, reckons he knows the ideal candidate to lead the Catholic Church (ALESSANDRA TARANTINO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Over a hundred cardinals will meet in the Sistine Chapel on 7 May to kickstart the secretive election process to choose the next leader of the Catholic Church.

But not just anyone can become the new Pope; there are a string of strict requirements that candidates must meet before they can be considered.

Formal conditions include being baptised by the Catholic Church, being unmarried, and being male, which is down to the fact that only men can be ordained as priests and bishops.

You also must be at least 35 years old and have studied the Bible, theology, or canon law.

However, despite identifying as a non-denominational Christian (a form of Protestantism), Trump reckons he’d be the perfect man for the job.

Yep, you read that right.

When a reporter asked who he would like to take Pope Francis’ place, the President recommended himself.

“I’d like to be Pope,” the commander-in-chief said. “That’d be my number one choice.”

The President and Melania seen attending the pontiff’s funeral last weekend (Marco Ravagli/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Now, we all know that Trump holds himself in high esteem, but putting himself on the same pedestal as His Holiness is seriously taking the biscuit.

Also, and perhaps quite importantly, Trump isn’t even Catholic. Would probably be better if the new head of the Catholic Church was actually Catholic, but hey, what do I know?

He went on to say that he didn’t have a specific preference over who is chosen, but he did suggest a US pope wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“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,” Trump added.

South Carolina senator and prominent Republican Lindsey Graham seemed all for the idea of Trump heading up the Catholic Church, saying in a social media post that he would be a ‘dark horse candidate’.

In a post on X, he wrote: “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!”

Trump’s presence at Pope Francis’ funeral wasn’t without incident, as the President caused a stir with his choice of clothing as well as talking shop with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the service.