President Donald Trump drew criticism for violating the official dress code at Pope Francis’s funeral by wearing a medium-blue suit and tie instead of the expected black attire.
While his wife Melania complied with tradition in a black dress and veil, Trump’s choice sparked backlash on social media, with critics calling it disrespectful and lacking in decorum. The funeral, held at St. Peter’s Square, asked male attendees to wear dark suits, black ties, and a black button on the left lapel.
Other dignitaries, including Joe Biden and Prince William, also wore dark blue suits but received less scrutiny. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, dressed in military attire, was applauded as he exited the basilica. Trump and Zelensky had a brief, reportedly productive meeting before the ceremony—their first since a tense February encounter. During the mass, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re indirectly rebuked Trump by quoting Pope Francis’s plea to “build bridges, not walls,” referencing one of Francis’s longstanding criticisms of Trump’s immigration policies.
