Mathias Busekist
Social media users were having a field day to say the least.
Hundreds of thousands gathered at St. Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 88. His death was confirmed by the Vatican in a solemn announcement delivered by Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who expressed “deep sorrow” at the passing of “our Holy Father Francis,” noting that he had “returned to the home of the Father”.
It came as no surprise that the funeral drew an extraordinary assembly of world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Prince William, among others.
However, it didn’t take long for Trump to become a lightning rod for criticism after appearing at the funeral wearing a blue suit instead of the traditional black attire typically worn in mourning – and social media users were having a field day with that one.
“Trump, the only world leader without the respect to wear black at Pope Francis’s funeral. He’s a disgrace to America and the world. God bless Pope Francis,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another added, “What is it with Trump that he did not even have the decency to wear a black tie, never mind he wore a blue suit.”
A third commentator fumed, “Look at our tone-deaf, idiot President Trump wearing blue at Pope Francis’s funeral. Not a day goes by that this makeup-covered moron doesn’t embarrass us on the world stage.”
Speaking to MSNBC, the president praised Pope Francis, saying, “[He] loved the world, actually, and he was just a good man. I thought he was a fantastic kind of a guy.”
Yet Trump quickly pivoted to discussing political matters, noting the funeral would also serve as an opportunity to “meet with a lot of foreign leaders” and touting progress on trade deals and diplomatic efforts related to Russia, Ukraine, and Iran.
Also this would cause a massive backlash.
“My goodness. Please tell me Donald Trump isn’t going to try to work trade deals at Pope Francis’s funeral,” one user tweeted. Another simply wrote, “Disrespectful,” while a third bluntly added, “He should be shunned.”