'I'd like to be Pope': Donald Trump jokes he should be next Vatican leader; Watch video
Washington, D.C.: U.S. President Donald Trump triggered a wave of reactions online after joking that he would like to be the next Pope, following the recent death of Pope Francis at the age of 88.
When asked for his thoughts on the future leadership of the Catholic Church, Trump responded with humour: “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
While his initial comment drew laughter, Trump went on to speak seriously about potential successors to Pope Francis. Although he said he had no particular preference, the 78-year-old mentioned Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, as someone who could be “very good.”
“No, I don’t know, I have no preference. I might say we have a Cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who is very good. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump added.
Some netizens raised concerns about the appropriateness of the remark and strongly opposed the idea of Trump as the next pontiff, as the comment quickly went viral and triggered a wave of memes across social media platforms. “Good news is he would no longer be president, bad news is he would be pope,” quipped one user. Another joked, “Next grift incoming: Catholic Bibles signed by Trump.”
Critics were quick to highlight Trump’s personal life, questioning the suitability of his candidacy. “Does the pope usually have 6 children with 3 different women? Lol,” one user wrote. Another commented, “In psychology, we term this disorder as Narcissistic Personality Disorder.”
😆"I'd like to be Pope." - President Trump pic.twitter.com/WZavhJrKIa
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
