I scratched my head when I heard Donald Trump was attending the funeral of His Holiness, Pope Francis. Donald Trump is not a Catholic and doesn’t regularly go to church. He cozies up to Evangelical Christians and sells Bibles. Most of us credit greed as his motivations. In essence, he is the antithesis of everything the Pope represented—a Pope who supported climate change initiatives, condemned mistreatment of immigrants, and believed that criminals could be rehabilitated. His washing of their feet was a sign of his commitment to service and the virtue of humility.
Was our President the only person in St. Peter’s this week labelled a rapist by a judge? And was there anyone credited with more lies than Trump—The Washington Post counted 30,573 false or misleading statements made during Trump’s first term as president. He likely will break that record this time around.
When it was confirmed Trump would be flying to Rome, I was disappointed. He could have sent J.D. Vance, a converted Catholic, but Vance angered the Church by having his photograph taken with his son in the Sistine Chapel, where photography is forbidden.
When Trump entered St. Peter’s, he was easy to spot. The Vatican informed persons invited to attend the funeral mass to wear black. Trump ignored the request. Was this because he knew Swiss Guards would not remove him for the etiquette violation? Or because Trump, who has made a practice of violating court orders and insulting the judges who issued them, enjoys breaking rules.
I don’t know what prompted Trump’s behavior in Rome, but I was glad to see him board Air Force One for his flight to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Yes, the President left the funeral mass as soon as it ended to get to the golf club in time to fit in 18 holes the next day.
Many words could be used to describe Trump’s behavior. Some that Trump uses himself in describing others, but I won’t repeat them here. I will only call the behavior disturbing. I worry that I see a president no longer in control of himself, a man subject to outbursts of anger, unable to distinguish truth and falsehoods, obsessed with vengeance and retribution against his perceived enemies, and devoid of any hint of empathy for anyone.
Every morning, in addition to reading a few newspapers, scanning the news on my iPad, and watching a few minutes of television news, I visit the President’s social media site and the White House press room. The social media site, I have found, is the best place to track what the President is doing and thinking. The White House online press room is where the full text of Executive Orders is posted. Want to learn why the President has banned paper straws? The answer is in the press room.
Trump’s social media posts are particularly disturbing. On Monday morning, I found a forceful attack on the press. The President wrote:
“We don’t have a Free and Fair Press in this Country anymore. We have a Press that writes BAD STORIES, and CHEATS, BIG, ON POLLS. IT IS COMPROMISED AND CORRUPT. SAD!”
Recent polls suggesting the public is souring on Trump prompted the outburst. The President has the lowest approval ratings for any president during their first 100 days in office in seven decades. Trump was also shown to have lost the public’s approval for his leadership on the economy. Credit the tariffs.
Be sure to visit the President’s social media site if you want to see more. There are more than enough unhinged posts to keep a small army of psychiatrists busy for decades. You will also find at least six photos and videos of the President travelling to Rome and two of him in St. Peter’s.
I do not want a man who wears a blue suit at the Pope’s funeral in the White House. Trump may have offended Catholics this weekend, but his actions and words are destroying America. I’ve had enough.
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government but, too frequently, on President Trump. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack.
Art Cecil says
“I’ve had enough”. What does that mean in practice? Are they just words? Sometimes President Trump just uses words with no action implied. You endlessly criticize him for such. How should your words be taken?
John Dean says
My words should be taken to mean that more people who agree with me that Trump’s presidency has been a disaster should make their opposition to Trump and his policies known. They need to attend protests, right letters to Congressional leaders that care about democracy and the rule of law, and otherwise make their voices heard.
I am ashamed to have a president that wants to annex Canada, reports people with no due process, started a world trade war, shrunk the economy (read today’s headlines), calls Vladimir Putin a genius, released the January 6 insurrectionists, and acts like a clown (gold in the Oval Office, take-over of the Kennedy Center, selling cryptocurrency for his profit while president).
Trump threatens America’s future. Try reading the transcript of his interview with ABC News and his rally in Warren, Michigan. Trump doesn’t just use words with no action implied most of the time.
In any case, thank you for reading the piece. I appreciate that we are on different pages.
Richard Marks says
Words matter, Art, and so do the illegal actions taken by Trump. Blind faith may be the best words used to describe many folks who see him as some kind of savior.
Lining his pockets while lavishly spending taxpayer dollars on himself. The emperor has no shame, but as Dylan wrote and sang, “but sometimes even the president of the United States must have to stand naked”.
Reed fawell 3 says
This article is absurd.
John Dean says
Thank you for reading it anyway. I look at Trump’s increasingly bizarre behavior and I see a threat to democracy. There is nothing absurd about directing attention to what Trump is doing and saying.
Wilson Dean says
We should all be fed up with Trump’s behavior. Why did Trump—the world’s poster child for greed, narcissism, and hatefulness— even bother to show up at the funeral of someone who truly cared about all people, the planet, and creating a better future for the next generation? Trump only ended up embarrassing himself, as well as every citizen of the United States.
John Dean says
Agreed. I felt the same way, as did many other Americans.
Thomas Vail says
The best ever….
Sally Woodall says
He said he was going to the funeral because leaders of other countries might want to talk to him and make a deal. Geesh! Also, headlines, you know.
John Dean says
Well, thank you for explaining that. I never went to a funeral to give anyone a chance to talk to me or to make a deal. I never thought it was the right place. You know, respect for the deceased.
You may be right about the headlines—Trump got the ones he deserved. This morning, he got another headline in the Wall Street Journal (not exactly a liberal newspaper): “Economy Shrinks as Tariffs Take Toll.”
Reed Fawell 3 says
Perhaps the best way to escape yesterday’s myopic snark and absurdity is to quietly and respectfully watch and work hard to learn from today’s National Day of Prayer event that formally returned on a permanent footing religious sentiments and practices to the White House for the first time in more than 6 decades. Please note the large turn out of prominent American priests, bishops, pastors, Rabbis, and Imams.
You can find the C-span film version of the landmark event by clicking on the link below.
https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-participates-in-national-day-of-prayer
John Dean says
I was curious about your suggestion to “quietly and respectfully watch and work hard to learn from today’s National Day of Prayer event” held yesterday, but your link doesn’t work–just click on it.
Still curious, I read the event transcript on the White House website. For most of the event, the president talked about himself and his accomplishments. He called out political supporters and made a pitch for his “Big Beautiful Bill,” including statements that are not true, such as saying that everyone’s taxes will rise 68 percent if the bill doesn’t pass. The President also took time out to accuse Democrats of “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” not a Christian thing to do at a National Day of Prayer.
C-SPAN apparently removed the video of the event. Could the reason be that the event had little to do with prayer and a lot to do with Trump?
Here is the transcript of the event, in case you missed any of the President’s praying:
https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-remarks-national-day-prayer-event-rose-garden-may-1-2025/
Reed Fawell 3 says
Meanwhile, some of the most prominent theologians in America applauded Trump and his remarkable efforts to reconstitute a dying Christian faith in America.
Brian Spector says
Typical left wing bias by a Trump hater.
Let me clue you in with two facts.
The men were asked to wear “dark suits”.
Secondly, the cropped photo you saw posted by the MSM
only showed Trump in a blue suit surrounded by all others in black. If you actually did a little research you would have seen that many men had worn blue suits. I saw the uncropped photo which you obviously missed in your haste to chastise Trump or ignored. Nice try.
If you are so disgusted you can always leave. 77M voters were disgusted with dementia Joe and his hyena sidekick, yet we stuck it out. Harris by the way is so incompetent she couldn’t run a lemonade stand.
John Dean says
“Typical left wing bias by a Trump hater?” That’s a little harsh. I don’t want to quibble, but Trump wasn’t wearing a “dark suit.” I won’t accuse you of bias, but I can’t see how anyone who wasn’t biased would argue that the suit the President wore to the funeral was “dark.”
That being said, I am relieved that the color of Trump’s suit was the focus of your comment. It is much more difficult to dispute the other things I said about the president.
I also won’t accuse Trump of dementia, but would encourage you to watch the transcript of his comments at his National Day of Prayer event earlier this week at the White House. With few exceptions, the President spoke about his favorite subjects–himself, how big his win was in 2024, and how bad Democrats are. The President did not offer a prayer for people deported to a brutal prison in Venezuela with no due process. Neither did he talk about the importance of telling the truth, nor did he express regret for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll.
I am tired of hearing about “dementia Joe” and his “hyena sidekick.” I don’t think a religious person would call another human being a “hyena.” Biden is no longer in office. And, even if you want to believe that Biden suffered the effects of age during his last years in the White House, he has nothing to do with the bizarre and embarrassing conduct of the current president.
In any case, thanks for reading my piece. I look forward to the day I might find something positive to write about the President. I keep waiting, but I am not holding my breath.
Reed Fawell 3 says
Your compliments of Trump would be worthless and by definition false and misplaced. You have shown time and again you have no clue.