{"id":2429155,"date":"2025-04-30T10:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T14:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-jokes-trump-should-be-the-next-pope-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T10:33:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T14:33:43","slug":"graham-jokes-trump-should-be-the-next-pope-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-jokes-trump-should-be-the-next-pope-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Graham jokes Trump should be the next pope &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgraham-jokes-trump-should-be-the-next-pope-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2429155&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) humorously suggested that former President Donald Trump should be considered as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/campaign-2024-an-early-look-at-the-possible-republican-contenders\/\" title=\"Campaign 2024: An Early Look At The Possible Republican Contenders\">potential candidate<\/a> for the papacy following the death of Pope Francis. This comment was made in light of Trump&#8217;s own joking remark about wanting to become pope. Graham expressed excitement over the idea, calling it a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trans-people-exist-oreo-cookie-virtue-signals-while-parent-company-faces-child-slave-labor-lawsuit\/\" title=\"\u2018Trans People Exist\u2019: Oreo Cookie Virtue Signals While Parent Company Faces Child Slave Labor Lawsuit\">dark horse<\/a>&#8221; candidacy and advised the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pope-francis-announces-21-new-cardinals-to-seal-voting-majority-for-successor\/\" title=\"... appoints 21 new cardinals to secure voting majority for future successor.\">papal conclave<\/a> to keep an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/most-republicans-not-convinced-as-house-democrats-wrap-up-arguments-against-trump\/\" title=\"Most Republicans Not Convinced as House Democrats Wrap Up Arguments Against Trump\">open mind<\/a> about the possibility. While acknowledging that Trump, a baptized Catholic male, technically qualifies for the position, he noted that Trump is likely too occupied with his presidential duties for the role. Additionally, Trump himself mentioned he has no strong preference for the next pope, jokingly adding that he would like to be the choice. He did suggest Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New york, as a potential candidate. Graham&#8217;s comments culminated in an invitation for the public to look out for the &#8220;white smoke,&#8221; indicating a new pope has been elected.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Graham jokes Trump should be the next pope<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2110459\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lindsey-graham\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> (R-SC) joked Tuesday that President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a> should be the next pope as the Vatican looks to select a new leader after Pope Francis&rsquo;s death.<\/p>\n<p>Graham&rsquo;s remarks came in response to Trump&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3395515\/trump-next-pope-is-himself-id-like-to-be-pope\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saying that he&rsquo;d<\/a>&nbsp;&ldquo;like to be pope.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3396132\/watch-live-trump-holds-cabinet-meeting-at-the-white-house\/\">WATCH LIVE: Trump holds Cabinet meeting at the White House<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/3396059\/toyota-launches-waymo-self-driving-taxis\/\">Toyota launches partnership with Waymo over self-driving taxis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3396109\/watch-house-democratic-leader-hakeem-jeffries-press-conference\/\">WATCH LIVE: House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries holds a press conference<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope,&rdquo; he said in a post on X. &ldquo;This would truly be a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">dark horse candidate<\/a>, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Any baptized Catholic male is eligible to be pope, though Trump would likely be distracted by his presidential duties in the very unlikely event that the conclave of cardinals elects him. Graham added to watch for the white smoke, indicative that a new pope has been elected, as opposed to black smoke, which means they are still deliberating.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Watching for white smoke. &hellip; Trump MMXXVIII!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. 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!<\/p>\n<p>The first Pope-U.S. President combination has&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MM9vE5Uvzb\">pic.twitter.com\/MM9vE5Uvzb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LindseyGrahamSC\/status\/1917331380297478530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>When asked who he wanted as the next pope, Trump joked, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to be pope. That&rsquo;d be my No. 1 choice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He then said, &ldquo;No, I don&rsquo;t know, I have no preference.&rdquo; He suggested the archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, who hosted Trump at the Al Smith Dinner before the election.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3386646\/pope-francis-successor-speculation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">PAPL PUNDITRY KICKS IN OVER WHO WILL SUCCEED POPE FRANCIS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I must say we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who&rsquo;s very good, so we&rsquo;ll see what happens,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Trump is not running to be pope, but Dolan is a much more likely choice. He still faces a host of competitors but would be the first-ever American pope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2110459\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2110459\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Graham quips Trump should be the next pope after Francis&#8217; death<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2429156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trump-pope.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3803,9592,3634],"class_list":["post-2429155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-graham","tag-pope","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trump-pope.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2429155"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2429159,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429155\/revisions\/2429159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2429156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2429155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2429155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2429155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}