Lindsey Graham backs Trump as the next pope after president joked about taking on the job himself

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) offered his ‘support’ for an unlikely – and entirely unofficial – candidate to lead the Catholic Church: President Donald Trump.

The endorsement, laced with humor, came hours after Trump himself joked to reporters outside the White House, ‘I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice.’ 

Trump, who was departing for Michigan to mark the 100th day of his second term with a campaign-style rally, added that he had ‘no preference’ for who should lead the Church, though he described New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan as ‘very good.’

Graham seized on Trump’s offhand remark with an enthusiastic tweet. 

‘I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope,’ he wrote in a post on X. 

‘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!’

‘The first Pope–U.S. President combination has many upsides,’ Graham continued, capping the post with a dramatic flourish: ‘Watching for white smoke… Trump MMXXVIII!’

The response online was swift. Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Senator John McCain, fired back: ‘Get a grip,’ she posted bluntly.

Trump’s comments came as the Vatican prepares for a historic conclave following the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. 

Francis, the first Jesuit pope and one of the most progressive leaders in the modern Church, died of complications from a stroke and a prolonged battle with lung disease.

The pope does not have to be a cardinal, priest or bishop, according to canon law, but he is required to be a Catholic.

Trump was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, but said in a 2020 statement that he considers himself ‘a nondenominational Christian.’

In order to theoretically be elected as the Pope he would have to convert to Catholicism before Cardinals begin the papal conclave on May 7th.

Trump further clashed with Pope Francis on the issue of migration, as the pontiff sent a letter to American bishops.

On a more serious note, Trump said he did not have a preference for the next pope but referred to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York as a possible option.

‘We have a cardinal at a place called New York that is very good so we will see what happens,’ he said.

Cardinal Dolan recently voiced his thoughts about the election of the next pope, suggesting that the next pope have ‘some of the characteristics’ of Pope Francis.

‘Every cardinal would say that. We never want to lose that,’ he told Fox News. ‘They might also say, but here’s some things we’d like to see the new pope emphasize.’

Dolan said the Catholic Church should not be considered as liberal or conservative, right or left, in the American sense of a political divide.

‘We don’t look at one another as belonging to camps. We look at each other as believers, as disciples, as brothers,’ he said.

Trump hinted at his next job after the told The Atlantic Magazine he was not looking to run for a third term as president despite his supporters support for the idea.

Trump was initially a fan of Pope Francis when he was first elected in 2013 and the future president was still in real estate.

‘Congratulations to my Catholic friends on the selection of Pope Francis I to lead the Catholic Church. People that know him love him!’ he wrote on social media.

But shortly after Trump was elected, Pope Francis chided him for repeatedly vowing to build a wall on the Southern border of the United States.

‘A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,’ the pontiff said in a media interview.

The pope also sent a letter to American bishops in February, criticizing ‘the initiation of a program of mass deportations’ under Trump’s second term.

Trump praised Francis after his death, speaking to Americans on Easter Monday from the White House. 

‘He was a good man, worked hard, he loved the world,’ he said. 

Trump attended Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, telling reporters he felt he was ‘a fantastic kind of a guy,’ as he left for Rome.