After attending the funeral of Pope Francis over the weekend, President Donald Trump had an interesting thought about who could succeed the Catholic leader.

When asked by reporters on the White House lawn about his choice for the next pope, Trump mused for a second before answering with a smile.

“I’d like to be pope,” he joked. “That would be my number one choice.”

In all seriousness, the president said he has “no preference” about the upcoming papal conclave, which is set to begin on May 7. However, he did admit to some hometown bias.

“I must say we have a cardinal who happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good,” he noted, likely referring to New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. “We’ll see what happens.”

Dolan offered the invocation during Trump’s second inauguration ceremony in January. He also led Pope Francis’ funeral mass service at New York City’s famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday, April 26.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan laughs alongside Donald Trump at the Alfred E. Smith Foundation Dinner on Oct. 17, 2024. Michael M. Santiago/Getty 

While the appointment of an American pope is technically a possibility, experts recently told PEOPLE it’s highly unlikely.

“I think that there’s no chance for an American pope just because the United States is already so powerful in the world,” admitted Dr. Bill Cavanaugh, a professor of Catholic studies at DePaul University.

The current frontrunners to succeed Pope Francis include Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.

Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, traveled to Rome over the weekend to attend Pope Francis’ funeral service alongside many other foreign dignitaries and world leaders.

The April 26 service happened to coincide with the first lady’s 55th birthday, though a source told PEOPLE that Melania – the first practicing Catholic first lady since Jackie Kennedy – was “honored” to attend the funeral, regardless of its timing.

“She respected the pope,” a social source tells PEOPLE. “It is a sad time for Catholics around the world, and the first lady is honored to go to the funeral.”

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For his part, the president took some flak following the funeral service for wearing a blue suit and tie, rather than the traditional black.

However, PEOPLE later confirmed that Trump was not necessarily breaking protocol. The Vatican does not list a funeral dress code on its website, and an insider told PEOPLE that attire for the April 26 ceremony was left up to the individual.

“Attendees wore what they considered to be appropriate attire for such a solemn occasion,” a Vatican source said.