Donald Trump has jokingly said he would be his own “number one choice” to be the next leader of the Catholic Church.
“I’d like to be pope,” he told a reporter on Tuesday, before sharing his views on who should actually take up the role.
Trump, who besides being quite busy serving as president of the United States is a billionaire married three times, is obviously unlikely to be selected to serve as the head of the Catholic Church.
The almost-2,000-year-old institution is currently searching for a new spiritual leader after the death of Pope Francis this month.
When asked who should replace Francis, Trump said “I have no preference,” but added: “I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
The cardinal of New York, Timothy Dolan, is not believed to be among the frontrunners to succeed Francis. There has never been a pope from the U.S.
Prominent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham appeared to throw his weight behind Trump’s long-shot bid for the papacy, saying on social media that he was “excited to hear” about it.
“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!” Graham said. “The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!”
This story has been updated.
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