Dem
47
GOP
53
Normally, Donald Trump wouldn't be caught dead in a church unless he was holding a rally outside one and it started to rain. However, someone on his staff no doubt told him that his Catholic voters would be insulted if skipped Pope Francis' funeral and sent J.D. Vance (who has been a Catholic for 6 years) instead. So he went, stayed on the ground for 14 hours, and zipped back to his New Jersey resort for a round of golf before the end of the day. Since many world leaders were present in Rome for the funeral, the Great Dealmaker could have used the time to make trade deals with some of them, but he didn't. The only leader he spoke to at length (= 15 minutes) was Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he talked to in the middle of St. Peter's Basilica.
This was the first time the two leaders, who deeply dislike and distrust one another, had met since the disastrous Oval Office meeting in February. A spokesman for Trump, Stephen Cheung, called the meeting "a very productive discussion, but gave no details on what was said or agreed upon, if anything. If ever there were a time for longer and more detailed diplomacy this was it and Trump blew it. Earlier in the week, Trump released a plan that gave Russia everything it wanted, included permanent ownership if the Crimea and all the land Russia seized during its illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Zelenskyy responded with a counterproposal that would end the war on less generous terms, including Russia paying Ukraine billions of rubles (well, trillions of rubles since the ruble is worth only 1.2¢). This was the time Trump could have personally worked out the Greatest Deal in the History of Diplomacy, but he didn't bother. Getting home for some golf was more important than winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Although Trump barely spoke to the other leaders present, he did have time to put his hand on Giorgia Meloni's shoulder. He doesn't like European leaders at all, but makes an exception for good-looking blonde fascists. Note that Trump broke protocol by wearing a blue suit and tie while everyone else at the funeral is dressed in Black, even Meloni, who normally prefers bright colors.
On the plane home, Trump posted a message to his boutique social media site blaming Joe Biden (who sat four rows behind him at the funeral) for the war in Ukraine. He also made it clear that he was annoyed that the pope died at an inconvenient moment for him. He wanted his first foreign trip to be to Saudi Arabia, since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has tons of money and loves to make deals. Besides, Francis was often critical of Trump and MBS is much too smart to do that—in public. (V)