Trump to Attend Pope Francis’s Funeral Despite Past Tensions

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he and First Lady Melania Trump will attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, as per Fox News.

The announcement comes despite a history of ideological clashes and strained relations between Trump and the late pontiff.

“Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome,” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday afternoon. “We look forward to being there!”

Earlier in the day, Trump had ordered all American flags on government grounds, including military installations and embassies abroad, to fly at half-staff until sunset Monday in honor of the late Pope.

Papal funerals traditionally take place four to six days after the Pope’s death, suggesting Francis’s funeral will occur before the end of the month. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni indicated that the General Congregation of Cardinals will convene Tuesday morning to finalize the funeral date.

Trump’s relationship with Pope Francis was marked by significant differences on key issues. In 2016, during Trump’s first presidential campaign, Pope Francis criticized his proposal to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, calling the idea “not Christian.”

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis told reporters at the time.

Trump responded sharply, calling it “disgraceful” for the Pope to question another person’s faith. He also suggested that the Vatican would have preferred him as president had it been attacked by ISIS.

Furthermore, Pope Francis frequently voiced concerns about rising nationalistic sentiments globally, an implicit critique of Trump’s “America First” agenda. The two also diverged significantly on climate change. Francis considered it a major societal problem, while Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Accords during both his terms as president.

While considering himself a Christian, but not a Catholic, Trump only met with Pope Francis once during his presidency.

Notably, Trump’s former Vice President, J.D. Vance, a Catholic himself, was among Pope Francis’s last visitors, meeting with him on Easter Sunday, just one day before his passing.