Will Trump think his seat at the Pope’s funeral is a snub?
Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the funeral of Pope Francis tomorrow morning in St. Peter’s Basilica, but he is unlikely to find himself in a location he believes represents his status.
Despite being among the first to confirm his presence, Trump is allegedly expected to be seated in what some are describing as a “third-tier” section.
For a figure who has long prided himself on occupying the center of attention at large occasions, the seating arrangement could be regarded as a slight, whether meant or not.
Final preparations at the Vatican are underway, but officials have yet to disclose the official seating chart, leaving dignitaries and their entourages guessing until the last moment.
According to tradition and sources from The Telegraph, Catholic royalty will be given priority for front row seating, followed by non-Catholic royals such as Prince William.
Only after these groups will world leaders, chiefs of state, and other international dignitaries be seated. Trump’s seat is scheduled to be well behind these groups,
positioned in a wide block reserved for non-royal dignitaries, opposite from the cardinals, patriarchs, bishops, and archbishops who will occupy the side closer to the Pope’s casket.
It might be difficult for Trump to ignore the optics. He has already publicly criticised how American presidents are treated at significant international gatherings.
Notably, Trump mocked the arrangement as proof that the US has lost international respect after President Joe Biden attended Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and was placed in the fourteenth row.
Trump even asserted that he would have gotten a position much closer to the front if he had been in office, implying that his reputation as a person and a country would have required it.
Trump did not personally attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral because invitations were only extended to current heads of state, which further complicated matters.
However, the Vatican’s invitation list is more inclusive in this instance, permitting previous presidents like Trump to attend. However, at a place as old and ritualistic as the Vatican, custom and procedure frequently take precedence over individual wishes.
Seating decisions are focused more on historic, religious, and diplomatic considerations than on individual celebrity or domestic political influence, as 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs are confirmed to attend.
It remains to be seen if Trump will express his displeasure in public if he feels betrayed, but his past indicates that he rarely holds such feelings inside for very long.
As he enters the solemn setting of one of the most important religious funerals in contemporary history, everyone’s eyes, including his own, may be intently observing not only the ritual but also the precise seat he occupies.
