U.S. President Donald Trump joked that he wants to be the pope ahead of the election of a new pope.
According to the White House press pool on the 29th (local time), President Trump was asked by reporters if he has a preferred next pope as he was leaving the White House to head to Michigan for his 100-day inauguration celebration. President Trump replied, "I want to be pope. That's my number one choice."
After the joke, President Trump said, "I have no preference, but there's a very good cardinal in New York," and noted, "We'll see what happens."
The Vatican plans to hold a conclave to elect the next pope to succeed the late Pope Francis starting on May 7. The cardinal in New York mentioned by President Trump is Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is not currently considered a strong candidate for the next pope.
However, there are analyses suggesting that President Trump's joke targets the conservative wing within the Catholic Church that is dissatisfied with Pope Francis's actions. This is because President Trump and his supporters want a conservative figure to be elected as the new pope. The British Guardian reported, "America's 'anti-reform' forces seem to be booking flights to Rome and making international calls to invite cardinals to sudden dinners."