US President Donald Trump is among the world leaders and royalty who have gathered in Rome to celebrate the life of Pope Francis amid the pontiff's funeral.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in Rome on Air Force One late Friday night ahead of the funeral, which is taking place at 10:00AM local time (4:00am EST) at St Peter’s Square.
Alongside Trump and Melania, other global figures attending the funeral include French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 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. Prince William is attending on behalf of King Charles and the British royal family.
Meanwhile, former US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden also arrived at the Vatican for the funeral. Biden was seen being assisted down the steps by wife Jill and a priest upon his arrival at St Peter’s Square, where he was one of the first prominent figures to arrive.
The attendance of both the Bidens and the Trumps marks the first time the two couples have been in the same place since the January 20 inauguration.
However, it seems that a friendly catch up isn't on the cards.
While flying to Rome aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked by reporters if he expected to see or meet Biden at the funeral. To which, he delivered a scathing response: "It’s not high on my list. It’s really not."
Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush are not attending the funeral.
Despite the global moment of unity honoring the life and legacy of Pope Francis, Trump has also been called out for another comment he made during his journey to Europe.
While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked about his attendance at the funeral. He responded, “I just thought it was out of respect.” He then added, “I won the Catholic vote," explaining, “I think it’s the first time that ever happened where a Republican won the vote, and I won it by a lot.”
Trump continued: “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.”
The comment quickly sparked backlash on social media, with users accusing Trump of making the solemn occasion "all about himself."
One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote that Trump started "babbling about how he won the Catholic vote and made it all about himself like a quintessential narcissist." Another commented: “It’s always about him. So if he didn’t win the Catholic vote he wouldn’t go?”
A third added: "'Out of respect', immediately trivializes it by talking about vote totals of Catholics."
Another X user said: "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."
President Trump previously had sharp disagreements with Pope Francis during his presidency, particularly regarding immigration, the treatment of migrants, and climate change.
In 2016, Pope Francis commented on Trump's "Build the wall" slogan, stating that anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants is “not Christian.” Trump had called the comment “disgraceful.”
However, following Pope Francis' death, Trump praised the pontiff as a “good man” who “worked hard” and “loved the world.” Trump also ordered that US flags be flown at half-staff in the Pope’s honor.
Trump had initially stated that he expected to hold "a lot" of meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the funeral but later suggested he would limit such engagements out of respect for the occasion. “Frankly, it's a little disrespectful to have meetings when you're at the funeral of a pope,” he said. He added, “I'll be talking to people. I'll be seeing a lot of people.”
He noted that time constraints might limit meetings, as he arrived late and was scheduled to return to the United States immediately after the funeral. "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 said.
Trump has been involved in efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and negotiate new trade agreements. He posted on Truth Social upon his arrival that Ukraine and Russia should meet for "very high level talks" to end the three-year war.
His envoy, Steve Witkoff, had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were "very close to a deal."
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke. Following several days of public mourning and viewings at St Peter’s Basilica, his funeral at St Peter’s Square today marks a historic event, with the Pope being the first in more than a century to be buried outside of St Peter’s Basilica, choosing instead Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major as his final resting place.
The service is being led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, with around 200,000 mourners expected to attend, per The Independent.