Donald Trump was initially expected to receive a ‘third-tier’ seat at Pope Francis’ funeral, but the seating arrangement turned out differently.
This morning, April 28, marked the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 88. The ceremony drew hundreds of thousands to St Peter’s Square in Vatican City to honor the beloved religious figure. Among those in attendance were global leaders such as US President Donald Trump, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The seating arrangement, particularly regarding Trump’s seat, has generated considerable online discussion.
Initial expectations placed Trump in a ‘third-tier’ seat.
While official details were not released ahead of time by the Vatican, reports suggested that the front row would be reserved for Catholic royalty, followed by non-Catholic royals like Prince William. Next in line were world leaders and heads of state. Due to seating based on the alphabetical order of their country’s name in French, Trump was predicted to sit several rows back.
According to MSNBC, the Holy See press office indicated that Trump would be seated between the leaders of Estonia and Finland.
However, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of Catholics in England and Wales, mentioned in a conversation with the PA news agency in Rome that the seating plan also takes into account the complexities of relationships between political figures and ‘big egos’.
In the past, Trump has expressed his views on funeral seating arrangements. He criticized former US President Joe Biden’s seating in the 14th row at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Trump commented via social media: “No respect. […] If I were president, they wouldn’t have sat me back there – and our Country would be much different than it is right now.”
Despite earlier controversies over his behavior, Trump secured a front-row seat at the funeral.
At the event, the US President wore a blue suit, which deviated from the traditional black attire typically worn to symbolize mourning and respect.
This choice sparked comments on social media: “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,” one user wrote.
Another remarked, “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.”
A third user expressed, “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.”