WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Tuesday joked he’d like to be the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, days after Pope Francis, 88, died.
Francis suffered from a stroke and heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli said in a death certificate released last week, Reuters reported. His death will soon kickstart the process of selecting a successor.
“I’d like to be pope,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “That would be my number one choice.”
In response to Trump’s remarks, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham jokingly wrote on X that he 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!” he wrote. “The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!”
The process of selecting a new pope involves a papal conclave, a private election held behind closed doors of Vatican City’s Sistine Chapel where 135 cardinals vote on who will serve as the next the head of the Catholic Church. The papal conclave is set for May 7.
Trump later told reporters he doesn’t have a preference for who gets chosen as Francis’ successor.
“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,” he said, likely referring to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Reuters reported that Dolan is not on the shortlist of possible contenders to succeed Francis.
Contributing: Mike Snider, Anthony Robledo, and John Bacon, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump jokingly says he’d like to be pope: ‘Number one choice’
