Lip reader reveals seven-word exchange Donald Trump shared with Melania at Pope's funeral
A lip reader claims to have deciphered the comment which Donald Trump said to his wife Melania during Pope Francis' funeral today (26 April).
The couple are among the thousands of mourners who are in Vatican City to pay their respects to the late pontiff, who is being laid to rest following his death on Easter Monday.
Presidents, prime ministers and cardinals from around the globe have gathered for the 88-year-old's final farewell - including Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He sat down with Trump in Saint Peter’s Basilica for a makeshift meeting ahead of the service, which marks the first time the pair have got together since their verbal clash in the White House in February.
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As the funeral got underway, all eyes were on the US President thanks to his striking blue suit, which made him stand out like a sore thumb among a sea of people dressed in black.
His wife Melania - who is a practicing Roman Catholic - was seen wearing a black blazer, a pencil skirt and a dark lace veil.
It was thought that the couple might have been saddled with a 'third-tier seat' for the two-hour service, however, Trump and his spouse were front and centre in live TV coverage of the funeral.
Cameras caught the moment the commander-in-chief, 78, shared a brief exchange with Melania while the world said one final goodbye to Pope Francis.
And a lip reader reckons they have worked out what Trump told the First Lady when he leaned towards her when the congregation stood up about halfway through.
Nicola Hickling, who describes herself as a 'investigating and forensic lip reader', explained that she picked up on a seven-word sentence which the President uttered.
The expert, from Lip Reader Limited, said on behalf of Oddspedia that she believes Trump told his wife: "I’ll go over and speak to him."
It is not clear who Trump was supposedly referring to, although Hickling claims she noticed that Melania seemed to give him 'the side eye' in response.
The 55-year-old former model is said to have not verbally acknowledged her husband's comment.
Trump was raised as Presbyterian and publicly identified with this faith for the majority of his life, however, he later defined himself as a non-denominational Christian, according to The Times.
Melania, on the other hand, is the first Catholic First Lady to reside in the White House since Jacqueline Kennedy, who called the place home from 1961 to 1963.
After meeting with Pope Francis back in 2017, during her husband's first term, Melania said she would 'never forget' her time with the late pontiff.
She took rosary beads with her for Pope Francis to bless, according to reports at the time.
In a post on X in wake of her visit to the Vatican, Melania wrote: "Today's visit with His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex is one I'll never forget. I was humbled by the honour. Blessings to all."
Revealing why he attended Pope Francis' funeral, Trump told Fox News: "I just thought it was out of respect, I won the Catholic vote and I think that's the first time that ever happened for a Republican and I won that by a lot.
"I have a great relationship to the Catholics, very simple. But I won the Catholic vote, I got 56% of the vote, I don't know why we didn't get more actually, I don't know how they got any.
"But we did well with the Catholic vote and my relationship is very good and so I think it's appropriate."
Topics: Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Religion, Pope Francis, World News
Olivia Burke