Trump congratulates Robert Francis Prevost as he becomes first American-born pope: 'What a great honor'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump congratulated Robert Francis Prevost on Thursday, May 8, as he became the first American-born pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV.

Trump took to the social media platform Truth Social and wrote, "Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope."

Donald Trump congratulates Pope Leo XIV

Donald Trump continued in his post, "What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment," according to CNBC.

Interestingly, the newly elected pope has not always had positive words for the POTUS and his administration.

A verified X account linked to Prevost shared an article in February criticizing Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, over his interpretation of Jesus' teachings.

"JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others," read the headline of the National Catholic Reporter article shared by Prevost’s X account.

Meanwhile, Vance, in an X post on Thursday afternoon, congratulated the new pope and wrote, "I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church."

The 69-year-old was chosen as the new pope on the second day of a papal conclave in Vatican City.

Meanwhile, the cardinals’ selection of a successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88, was revealed by releasing white smoke from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, per the outlet.

Donald Trump and Pope Francis had contrasting views

President Donald Trump and Pope Francis’ relationship was marked by a deep rift that often erupted publicly, exposing their starkly different visions of leadership and the world they sought to shape, per the New York Post.

Notably, Pope Francis believed that Christian love needed compassionate care for migrants and that Trump’s agenda of mass deportation violated the "dignity of many men and women, and of entire families."

During the 2016 election, the late Pope Francis criticized Trump’s pledge to build a wall on the US border with Mexico, and said that it suggested that the Republican candidate was "not Christian".

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," Pope Francis said back then.

Interestingly, Trump shot back and called the Pope's comments "disgraceful" and said, through a campaign statement, that if the Vatican were ever "attacked by ISIS", the pope "would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president."

After Pope Francis' death in April, Trump took to social media and wrote, "Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him."

Donald Trump posts AI image of himself in papal attire after Pope Francis' death

Last week, Donald Trump caused a stir online as he posted an AI-generated image of himself in papal attire. Trump's post came days after Pope Francis' death.

The POTUS shared the AI-generated picture of himself in papal attire on Truth Social, and it has so far garnered more than 37,000 likes, and around 8,500 users have reshared the post.

Pope Francis died in April at 88 following a stroke and heart failure, according to a death certificate released last week by Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli.

Moreover, the president and First Lady Melania Trump attended the pope's funeral, which was held in Rome last week. Trump caught people's attention during the funeral as he was the only global leader who did not wear black.

He donned a navy blue suit and a matching tie to complement his attire. Meanwhile, the first lady was in black attire during the funeral.

Interestingly, Trump also joked with reporters last week and said, "I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice."