US President Donald Trump has faced criticism for his apparent lack of ‘respect’ at the funeral of Pope Francis.
Pope Francis passed away on April 21 at the age of 88, as confirmed by the Vatican through a statement by Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell. Farrell expressed ‘deep sorrow’ over the loss of ‘our Holy Father Francis,’ noting that he had ‘returned to the home of the father’ after a lifetime dedicated to serving the Church and the Lord.
As the funeral proceedings began today (April 28), a massive crowd gathered at St Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Among them were global leaders such as US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Trump attended the event with his wife, Melania, joining figures like Starmer, Zelensky, and Prince William. However, Trump has come under fire on social media for not adhering to the traditional funeral attire, opting to wear a blue suit instead of black.
One Twitter user expressed their disapproval, stating, “Trump the only world leader without the respect to wear black at Pope Francis funeral. He’s a disgrace to America and the world. God bless Pope Francis.”
“What is it with Trump that he did not even have the decency to wear a black tie, never mind he wore a blue suit,” another user remarked.
A third criticized, “Look at our tone deaf, idiot President Trump wearing blue at Pope Francis funeral. Not a day goes by that this makeup covered moron doesn’t embarrass us on the world stage.”
Additionally, Trump is facing criticism for other reasons related to the funeral.
Before departing Washington, Trump commented on Francis, saying, “[He] loved the world, actually, and he was just a good man. I thought he was a fantastic kind of a guy.”
He then mentioned that the funeral would provide him an opportunity to ‘meet with a lot’ of other world leaders.
In an interview with MSNBC, Trump stated, “It’s going to be very interesting. We’re going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders, they want to meet.
“Trade deals are going very well. I think Russia and Ukraine, I think they are coming along, we hope, very fragile. And Iran I think is going very well. We’ll see what happens. We’re working on plenty of things.”
This prompted a Twitter user to respond, “My goodness. Please tell me Donald Trump isn’t going to try to work trade deals at Pope Francis’s funeral.”
“Disrespectful,” another user added.
“He should be shunned,” commented a third.
UNILAD has reached out to the White House for a statement on the matter.
The relationship between Trump and Francis has historically been complicated.
David Gibson, Director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University in New York, described their relationship as ‘fraught.’
Gibson told AP News that Trump’s second term in office saw tensions escalate with the Vatican, largely due to the President’s more ‘aggressive’ stance ‘against migrants’ and ‘international aid.’