Pope Donald? Trump jokes he should be selected as new pontiff Among the questions put to Donald Trump outside the White House just now was who he thought should be the new pope. Cardinals will meet next week in a secret conclave to elect the new head of the Catholic Church following the death of Pope Francis. Smiling as he heard the question, Trump responded: "As pope? I'd like to be pope. That would be my number one choice." He went on to say he didn't have a preference for who should be the new pontiff but suggested Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, might be a good choice. "I don't know. I don't have a preference," he said. "But I must say we have a cardinal out of a place called New York who is very good, so we'll see what happens."