He’s been a successful entrepreneur – if you discount the six bankruptcies, a belligerent TV presenter and, of course, a two-time president of the United States of America.
But now Donald Trump has set his sights on a new job: becoming the next pope.
The death of Pope Francis in April has been a time for mourning for Catholics across the globe, who will remember him as a progressive humanitarian that fought injustice fearlessly.
His funeral, held on Saturday, marked the end of that particular chapter of papal history, while setting into motion the process for electing Francis’ successor.
And Trump, in his own mind at least, is the perfect candidate.
Trump for Pope
Image by andykatz via Bigstockphoto
Marking his 100th day in office in his second term in the White House, Trump was asked about the conclave process of appointing Francis’ successor.
And, in typical fashion, he wasn’t shy of talking up his own chances.
“I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice,” he said.
The assembled reporters laughed… although you sense few were sure whether Trump was joking or not.
Although known to be religious, few of Trump’s political policies reveal him to be a man of understanding and a bastion of peace, so it’s rather unlikely that he’d be taken seriously as a candidate – mind you, they said that about his presidential chances back in 2016…
The 78-year-old did go on to offer up an alternative candidate:
“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.”
Trump was referring to Timothy Dolan, the 75-year-old archbishop of New York, who has served in that position for more than 15 years.
There has never been an American pope, which would suggest that Dolan’s chances are slim, although the papal conclave chose Francis last time – the first instance in which a Latin American pope (Francis was from Argentina) was appointed.
So perhaps there is an opportunity for another first to take place. At the time of writing, Dolan is a 40/1 chance with bookmakers in their next pope betting odds, so maybe stranger things have happened.
After all, Trump is no stranger to upsetting the odds…
Next Pope Betting Favourites
The papal conclave will meet in the Sistine Chapel on May 7 to choose the next pope. There will be 135 cardinals in all casting their vote, and there must be a consensus pick – they aren’t allowed to leave the Vatican until Francis’ successor has commanded at least 66% of the vote.
So secretive is the process that the cardinals must stay in Casa Santa Marta, which is effectively the Vatican’s guesthouse, and they are prevented from accessing their mobile phones, the internet or newspapers.
Incredibly, it can take years for consensus to be reached… or a matter of hours, as was the case in Francis’ anointment back in 2013.
The question for punters to unravel is whether the next pope will follow in Francis’ stead with progressive, liberal ideals, or will cardinals revert to more traditional, conservative values?
Intriguingly, Francis appointed around 80% of the cardinals that will be voting on his successor, which would suggest that many will be looking for someone cut from the same cloth next up.
The safe pair of hands pick would be Pietro Patrolin, the current betting favourite who served as the secretary of state to the Vatican during Francis’ term – he was considered to be his ‘right hand man’, which would make Patrolin the obvious choice for continuity.
But what about the candidate named the ‘Asian Francis’? Luis Antonio Tagle is a Filipino cardinal who shares many of Francis’ progressive views on welcoming marginalised groups back into the church. He would also help to strengthen the Vatican’s ties in Asia, which haven’t always been strong.
Meanwhile Miles Pattenden, a Catholic Church historian, believes that the time could be right for an English-speaking pope… suggesting that a Brit, Irishman or American might be in the frame.
“There might be some advantages to an American pope which the cardinals may consider,” he commented.
“Specifically, that an American Pope can communicate well in English, the ‘global language’, which Francis could not.”
Francis, then known as plain old Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was a 100/1 outsider with the bookies when he was anointed more than a decade ago.
So maybe punters can take a chance on a native English speaker at longer odds… Dolan, Wilton Daniel Gregory – the first African-American cardinal – and Kevin Farrell, the Irish president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City, being just some of the names in the hunt.