New York Cardinal: 'Trump dressed as Pope? He didn't have to do that." Vance defends him: 'A joke'

"It was not good, I hope it had nothing to do with this". This was said by the New York Cardinal, elector in the Conclave, on the post of US President Donald Trump, who appeared dressed as the Pope. Asked if he was offended by the president's gesture, he replied: 'Well, as the Italians say, it was a bad figure'.

The statement comes after criticism of the post by the Episcopal Conference of New York: "There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We have just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter into a solemn conclave to elect a new successor to St. Peter. Don't mock us," reads the US bishops' conference account.

While US Vice President JD Vance, a fervent Catholic, defends Trump by calling the post "a joke". "As a general rule, I'm OK with people making jokes, I'm not OK with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen," he wrote in a post on X, responding to a question from Bill Kristol, editor-at-large of The Bulwark, who asked him if he was "OK with this disrespect and mockery of the Holy Father".

The photomontage with Donald Trump dressed as a pope was posted on the White House social accounts just days before the start of the conclave - will begin on 7 May - that will designate the successor to Pope Francis, who died on 21 April. The same image was also shared by the US president on his Truth account.

The image depicts Trump in a cassock, wearing a mitre, with a crucifix around his neck and in the act of blessing. Several times recently the American president has joked that being the next pope himself 'would be his first choice'.