Fox News hosts joke Trump’s sit-down with Zelensky at pope’s funeral looked like a Catholic confession

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had an apparent heart-to-heart during Pope Francis' funeral that pulled a lot of media attention
UPDATED APR 28, 2025
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had a brief meeting inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral on April 26, 2025, in Vatican City (X/@officialrnintel)
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had a brief meeting inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral on April 26, 2025, in Vatican City (X/@officialrnintel)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Fox News hosts Charlie Hurt, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Dana Perino joked about President Donald Trump's sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in St Peter's Basilica shortly before Pope Francis' funeral began on Saturday, April 26.

Trump and Zelensky had an apparent heart-to-heart that pulled a lot of media attention, especially because of how things went during their meeting in the White House in February, according to Mediaite.

Fox News hosts joke about Donald Trump's sit-down with Volodymyr Zelensky

During 'Fox & Friends Weekend', the hosts were discussing Pope Francis' funeral when Charlie Hurt brought up the "iconic image" of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky deep in conversation.



 

Campos-Duffy humorously mentioned that amid the trappings of Catholicism and the situation at large, the picture evoked an imagery.

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on April 26, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis died on April 21st at the age of 88. Born in Argentina as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to become Pope when elected in 2013. Taking the name Francis after St Francis of Assisi, he promoted a more humble version of the papacy than many of his predecessors. He will be buried outside of the Vatican in a simple wooden coffin at the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square on April 26, 2025, in Vatican City (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

She said, "You know what that looks like by the way? That looks like a face-to-face confession."

As the hosts joked about it, Hurt asked, "Who’s confessing to whom?"

"I don’t like face-to-face confession, but it happens. I don’t like it. I like the screen. But that looks like a confession," Campos-Duffy said.

Perino then mentioned how significant it is that the two leaders could have that "moment of peace" to privately communicate.

US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump attend the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on April 26, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis died on April 21st at the age of 88. Born in Argentina as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to become Pope when elected in 2013. Taking the name Francis after St Francis of Assisi, he promoted a more humble version of the papacy than many of his predecessors. He will be buried outside of the Vatican in a simple wooden coffin at the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square on April 26, 2025, in Vatican City (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

"These are that deciders in chiefs for their nations and it matters what the two of them being able to communicate directly in that moment of peace at a time when people are being very reflective, not just maybe for their own lives, but also the peace of the world," she said.

Perino added, "There’s a lot of responsibility on their two shoulders, and I love that image and hope that it portends something positive."

Donald Trump's surprise meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis' funeral



 

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met inside St Peter's Basilica for 15 minutes, and according to the White House, it was "very productive," BBC reported.

White House communications director Steven Cheung said, "President Trump and President Zelensky met privately today and had a very productive discussion."

 Zelensky's spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov had earlier told reporters, "The meeting took place and is already over", without sharing more information.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office at the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump and Zelensky are meeting today to negotiate a preliminary agreement on sharing Ukraine’s mineral resources that Trump says will allow America to recoup aid provided to Kyiv while supporting Ukraine’s economy. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office at the White House on February 28, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

During Trump and Zelensky's last meeting in February, the POTUS and Vice President JD Vance had blamed the Ukrainian leader for not being "thankful" to America for its help in Ukraine's war against Russia.



 

Meanwhile, Zelensky, who was one of several world leaders to attend the pope's funeral service, reportedly received applause as he arrived at the venue.

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