April 26, 2025

Trump's Front-Row Diplomacy: Pope's Funeral Becomes Surprise Ukraine Peace Summit

Show Notes
Transcript

President Trump scores VIP seats at Pope Francis's funeral while holding unexpected peace talks with Zelensky. Plus, tonight's White House Correspondents' Dinner goes comedian-free as media tensions escalate. Patrick Gutfield breaks down the diplomatic drama, midnight blue suits, and awkward handshakes in Vatican City that could reshape the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

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Callaroga Shark media.

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From Vatican City, where the funeral of the Pope somehow

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became all about Trump.

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This is ballot.

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A lot to get to today, including that photo everyone's

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talking about.

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Let's hit this.

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So the Pope passed away, and guess who snagged front

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row seats at the funeral?

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Donald Trump.

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That's right, our president managed to get VIP seating despite

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precedent saying he should be in the third row. You

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know how funerals have a seating chart. Well, traditionally Catholic

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royals get the front row, Non Catholic royals get the

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second row, and regular old heads of state get the

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third row based on their country's names alphabetically. But Trump, nope,

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he said, I'm sitting up front where I can see

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the action. Trump showed up in a midnight blue suit

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while everyone else wore black.

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Classic Trump moved.

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This reminds me of when everyone agrees to wear costumes

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to a party and that guy shows up in jeans, saying, oh,

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was I supposed to dress up?

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Now?

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Remember, Pope Francis and Trump had some tension. The Pope

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criticized Trump's plans to deport millions of migrants, calling it

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a disgrace. So during the funeral, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Ray

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basically subtweeted Trump right to his face by emphasizing build bridges,

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not walls. I mean, talk about awkward. That's next level

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passive aggressive. Even my passive aggressive aunt who gives diet

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books as Christmas presents, would say, WHOA take it down

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a notch. During the funeral, Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenski

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had an impromptu meeting inside Saint Peter's Basilica. These two

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haven't exactly been besties lately. Their last meeting ended with

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Zelensky practically being kicked out of the White House with

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his lunch still on the table. They sat on metal chair,

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having what the White House called a very productive discussion.

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Sure if by productive you mean awkward conversation between two

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people who can't stand each other but have to pretend

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they're fine because they're at a funeral. Trump wants Russia

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and Ukraine to make a deal, even posting on truth

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Social that they are very close to a deal and

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I'm very close to becoming an Olympic gymnast. All I

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need is talent training and to be about twenty five

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years younger. The peace proposals from both sides couldn't be

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more different. Trump's plan would basically let Russia keep all

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the land they stole, while Zelenski wants Russia to pay

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billions in reparations. So yeah, they're super close to a deal,

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if by close you mean living on different planets. Zelensky

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later posted that it was a good meeting with potential

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to become historic.

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He even wrote, thank you potus.

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See he learned his lesson always thank Trump even if

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you think his ideas are terrible.

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That's politics. One oh one.

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Let's flash back twenty years to another papal funeral when

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Pope John Paul the Second died. President George W. Bush

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flew to Rome with Bill Clinton and Bush Senior. Three

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presidents one plane, praying side by side. It was like

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the beginning of a joke. Three presidents walk into a basilica.

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Fast forward to today, Trump and Biden couldn't even share

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a ride.

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Biden flew separately.

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I mean, considering Trump strip Biden of his security clearances

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and regularly calls him the worst president ever, it's not

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shocking they didn't carpool when asked if he planned to

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talk with Biden at the funeral. Trump seemed surprised Biden

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was even going, saying it's not high on my list.

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It's really not.

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That's diplomatic speak for I'd rather talk to the corpse.

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And finally, let's not forget Milania Trump, who previously before

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became the first practicing Catholic First Lady since Jackie Kennedy.

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During their first trip to the Vatican in twenty seventeen,

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she brought rosary beads for the Pope to bless and

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later tweeted that the visit was one I'll never forget.

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She even requested to visit the pediatric care unit at

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the Bambino Jesu Hospital outside the Vatican. Follow in the

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footsteps of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. When you're following

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in the footsteps of Diana and Mother Teresa, you're either

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doing something very charitable or you've taken a wrong turn

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at the gift shop. So there you have it, a

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funeral that turned into an impromptu world summit, with some

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awkward encounters, strategic seating arrangements, and diplomatic side eyes. Politics

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never takes a day off, not even for a funeral.

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Tonight's the big annual gathering of journalists, and let me

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tell you, it's going to be about as fun as

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a colonoscopy with a GoPro. That's the big news from Washington.

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The White House Correspondence Dinner is happening, and neither the

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president nor any comedians will be there. That's right, The

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dinner that's traditionally known for presidents telling jokes and comedians

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roasting politicians will have neither. Trump decided to skip it again,

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just like during his first term when he called the

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media the enemy of the people. They originally booked comedian

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Amber Ruffin, but then uninvited her after she called the

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Trump administration kind of a bunch of murderers on a podcast.

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The White House Correspondence Association president said, they want to

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focus not on the politics of division, which is hilarious

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because division is Washington's main export these days. That's like

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going to Disney World and saying, let's focus not on

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the mouse. This dinner used to be a hot ticket

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during Obama's years. Remember when Obama roasted Trump back in

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twenty eleven while Trump just sat there with a face

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that looked like someone had just told him his comb

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over was visible from space.

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Those were the days.

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Now the event has all the excitement of a PBS

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Pledge drive. One journalist described previous dinners as standing in

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line forever and ever in the rain outside the Hilton

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Hotel with bad food and bad jokes. Sounds magical. Nothing

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says glamorous Washington event like getting soaked while waiting to

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eat rubber chicken. So tonight, instead of laughs and celebrity sightings,

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we're getting what amounts to a wake for traditional media.

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So pour one out for the UHCA Dinner tonight, where

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journalists will gather to celebrate their independence while simultaneously worrying

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about which tweet might get them banned from the White

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House tomorrow.

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That's our show for today.

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I'm Patrick Gutfield, and remember, in politics, even the dead

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can't escape the drama.