DONALD Trump has joked “I’d like to be pope” and revealed his top pick to lead the Vatican.
When asked on Tuesday who should succeed Pope Francis, the US president gave a characteristically bold answer – himself.
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Famous for popularizing the red MAGA cap, Trump could trade it for the holy white skullcap.
Trump said: “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice.
“No, I don’t know, I have no preference.
“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.”
While Trump clarified he doesn’t have a firm preference on who should take the position, his favorite “from New York” is widely believed to be Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
The Archbishop of New York is the only American considered a serious candidate.
A staunch conservative, Dolan has vocally opposed contraception and condemned the removal of controversial statues during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
He took his vows in 1976 and was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.
While Trump’s remark was made in jest, it’s a technical impossibility.
The spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics must be elected from the College of Cardinals, and Trump is not – and never has been – a cardinal.
Currently, around 135 cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to take part in the secretive election in the papal conclave, a centuries-old process steeped in tradition.
They’ll travel from around the world to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, where the next leader of the Catholic Church will be chosen in a series of ballots.
While the process of choosing Francis’ successor is highly secretive, several cardinals have been identified as possible top contenders.
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They include Italy’s Pietro Parolin, the Philippines’ Luis Antonio Tagle, Hungary‘s Peter Erdo and Ghana‘s Peter Turkson.
Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic church, died last Monday aged 88 after fighting for his life in a “complex” health battle.
The pontiff had been hospitalised for weeks at the Gemelli hospital in Rome earlier this year after suffering a bout of bronchitis and double pneumonia.
He was discharged on March 23 after the 38-day stay, and was able to bless crowds of worshippers yesterday on Easter Sunday.
But just hours later, Vatican officials announced the leader of the Catholic Church had passed away.
Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said in a statement: “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church.”
What is a papal conclave?
The papal conclave is a centuries-old tradition of the Catholic Church, used to elect a new pope following the death or resignation of the previous one.
Cardinals from all over the world will gather in the Vatican to choose the next pontiff whenever the incumbent dies or resigns.
They will vote in a series of ballots held in the Sistine Chapel, not leaving until the new Pope has been chosen.
After each round of voting, their ballots will be burned and smoke will rise over the Vatican.
Black smoke means that no one has reached the two-thirds majority needed to be elected Pope.
But if white smoke emerges, then the new pontiff will soon be revealed to the world.