US President Donald Trump is among the world leaders and royalty in Rome, Italy, to celebrate the life of Pope Francis amid the pontiff's funeral.
However, one comment Trump made hours before the ceremony has been slated by social media users, with people branding the POTUS a "quintessential narcissist".
Trump and First Lady Melania arrived on Air Force One the night before the funeral, which is scheduled to take place at 10:00AM local time (4:00M EST) on Saturday in St Peter’s Square.
US Vice President JD Vance had met with Pope Francis only the day before his death.
Other world leaders in attendance include French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Argentinian President Javier Milei. Australia is represented by Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
Kings and Queens attending include Queen Mary of Denmark, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, and King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
Prince William is attending on behalf of King Charles and the British royal family.
Pope Francis - who died on Easter Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88 - will be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major, marking the first time in over a century that a pope will not be buried in St Peter’s Basilica.
Despite the world coming together to celebrate and honor the life of one of the most respected pontiffs in history, President Trump has been slammed for making the funeral "all about him" following comments he made on his journey to Europe.
During the flight to Rome, Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked why he felt it was important to attend, Trump said he “just thought it was out of respect." Presumably, this would have been fine... that was, until the POTUS made the five-word comment: "I won the Catholic vote".
Trump continued: “I think it’s the first time that ever happened where a Republican won the vote, and I won it by a lot.”
“And you know, I have a great relationship to the Catholics. Very simple. But I won the Catholic vote, we got 56 per cent of the vote. I don’t know why we didn’t get more, actually I don’t know how they [the Democrats] got any. But we did well with the Catholic vote and my relationship is very good, so therefore you know I think it’s appropriate,” Trump continued.
After the clip was shared on X (formerly Twitter), Trump was accused of making the Pope's funeral "all about himself".
One user on X who shared the video criticized the comments, writing that Trump started "babbling about how he won the Catholic vote and made it all about himself like a quintessential narcissist.” Another user wrote, “It’s always about him. So if he didn’t win the Catholic vote he wouldn’t go?”
"'Out of respect', immediately trivializes it by talking about vote totals of Catholics," another X user added.
Another scathing tweet read: "He’s simply incapable of putting anything in normal human terms. He can’t just say that he went because the Pope was a decent man and an important spiritual leader of one billion people. It has to somehow be recast in his own terms and who voted for him. Imagine liking this guy."
According to reports, more than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries are attending the funeral, where President Trump will personally pay his respects to Pope Francis. The two men had previously disagreed on several issues, including immigration, the treatment of migrants, and climate change, ABC News reports.
In 2016, Pope Francis had commented on then-candidate Trump's "Build the wall" slogan, saying that anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants is “not Christian.”
Trump responded by calling the comment “disgraceful".
However, following Pope Francis' death, Trump praised the pontiff as a “good man” who “worked hard” and “loved the world.” He also ordered US flags to be flown at half-staff in Francis' honor.
Trump stated that he had initially expected to hold "a lot" of meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the funeral, but later indicated he would scale that back: “Frankly, it's a little disrespectful to have meetings when you're at the funeral of a pope.” However, he added: “I'll be talking to people. I'll be seeing a lot of people.”
He noted that he might have meetings at Villa Taverna, the US ambassador's residence, where he spent the night, although time was limited due to his late arrival in Rome. Trump said: “It’s a little tough because we don’t have much time. I think that we’re going to try and see a couple of people that are important in what we’re doing."
Trump has been involved in efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and negotiate trade agreements with multiple countries.
He posted on Truth Social shortly after arriving in Rome that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high level talks” to end the three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.”
It was unclear whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would attend the funeral. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending.
Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush are not attending the funeral. A spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton did not respond to an inquiry about his plans.
President Trump said he was not aware that former President Joe Biden planned to attend the funeral with his wife, Jill. Asked if they would meet, Trump said: "It’s not high on my list. It’s really not."