United States President Donald Trump has drawn global attention by posting an AI-generated image of himself in papal vestments, shortly after joking that becoming Pope would be his “number one choice”.
The image, which features Trump in full pontifical attire, was shared across his official social media handles, including Instagram and Truth Social. The White House also posted the image on its X account.
Speaking earlier this week to a reporter, Trump had remarked, “I'd like to be Pope. That'd be my number one choice.”
When pressed on who he believed should succeed the late Pope Francis, Trump said, “I have no preference,” before adding, “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.”
The comments and image post come amidst widespread mourning following the death of Pope Francis on 21 April at the age of 88. The Pope died at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta after a prolonged illness. He had recently been discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he spent five weeks undergoing treatment for an infection that developed into double pneumonia.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis was ordained a priest in 1969. He succeeded Pope Benedict XVI after his resignation in 2013, becoming the first Pope from the Americas and choosing his papal name in homage to Saint Francis of Assisi.
The papal conclave to elect his successor is set to convene on 7 May. The College of Cardinals has affirmed that all 133 cardinal electors will participate in the vote. Among these are four Indian cardinals: Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Cardinal Anthony Poola, and Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad.
World leaders, including President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, attended the Pope’s funeral at the Vatican.
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