President Donald Trump will be attending the Saturday funeral of Pope Francis, and world leaders will be jockeying for an audience with him, Bloomberg said.
More than 50 heads of state are expected to attend the funeral at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
"I'd like to meet them all," Trump told reporters Thursday. "That would be nice. I'd like to take care of all of them, but we have many of them there, and they all want to meet, and they want to meet about trade, and we are making some great inroads and great deals."
Leaders that could look to meet with Trump include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Bloomberg reported.
Former President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, will also be attending the funeral. Russian Premier Vladmir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jiping are not expected to attend, according to Bloomberg.
Father James Martin, editor at large for American Magazine, a Jesuit publication, told Bloomberg that he believes the Cardinals who will select a next Pope will consider global politics as part of their choice.
"It's natural for the college of cardinals to consider the signs of the times, that is what is going on in the world," Martin said to Bloomberg. "So broadly speaking they will be considering the geopolitical situation."
Trump has not weighed in on who should be the next Pope, only offering praise to Pope Francis.
"He loved the world, and he especially loved people that were having a hard time — and that's good with me," Trump told reporters.
Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic, also declined to weigh in who should be the next pope.
"I won't pretend to give guidance to the cardinals on who they should select as the next pope," Vance told reporters. "We've got plenty of issues to focus on in the United States."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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