During Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26, a comment allegedly made by Donald Trump to his wife Melania was interpreted by a lip reader, drawing attention amid the solemn occasion.
The late pope, who passed away on Easter Monday, is being honored in Vatican City, where thousands of mourners—including world leaders and dignitaries—have gathered for his final farewell. Among them are Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, several prime ministers, and high-ranking cardinals.
Before the ceremony began, Trump reportedly held a brief, informal meeting with Zelenskyy inside Saint Peter’s Basilica—their first encounter since a heated exchange at the White House back in February.
The US President was the center of attention as the funeral began because of his eye-catching blue suit, which stood out sharply among the sea of black-clad mourners.
Melania, his wife and a devout Roman Catholic, was spotted sporting a dark lace veil, a pencil skirt, and a black blazer.
Trump and his spouse were the main focus of live television coverage of the funeral, despite the possibility that they were assigned a “third-tier seat” for the two-hour service.
While the globe said Pope Francis a final farewell, cameras captured the commander-in-chief, 78, having a brief conversation with Melania.
Additionally, a lip reader believes they have deduced what Trump said to the First Lady as he leaned in her direction around halfway through when the audience stood up.
According to Nicola Hickling, a self-described “investigating and forensic lip reader,” she detected a seven-word statement that the President spoke.
The expert, from Lip Reader Limited, told the Express that she believes Trump told his wife, “I’ll go over and speak to him.”
Hickling says she saw Melania give Trump ‘the side look’ in response, but it’s unclear to whom Trump was allegedly referring.
According to reports, the 55-year-old beauty has not acknowledged her husband’s remark vocally.
Trump eventually described himself as a non-denominational Christian, despite having been reared as a Presbyterian and publicly identifying with this church for most of his life, according to The Times.
However, Melania is the first First Lady of Catholic descent to live in the White House since Jacqueline Kennedy, who did so from 1961 to 1963.
Melania declared she will ‘never forget’ her encounter with the late Pope Francis in 2017, during her husband’s first term.
She took rosary beads with her for Pope Francis to bless, according to reports at the time.
In a post on X in wake of her visit to the Vatican, Melania wrote, “Today’s visit with His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex is one I’ll never forget. I was humbled by the honour. Blessings to all.”
Revealing why he attended Pope Francis’ funeral, Trump told Fox News, “I just thought it was out of respect, I won the Catholic vote and I think that’s the first time that ever happened for a Republican and I won that by a lot.”