The Hoax

Trump Disrespectfully Broke The Dress Code Of The Pope’s Funeral

On April 26, 2025, media outlets ran headlines claiming President Trump broke the dress code of the Pope’s funeral by wearing a blue suit.

As world leaders gathered in solemnity at St Peter’s Basilica to bid farewell to Pope Francis, US President Donald Trump’s choice of outfit became an unexpected talking point.

Breaking from the Vatican’s strict dress code for papal funerals, Trump on Saturday arrived wearing a dark blue suit paired with a light blue tie and his familiar American flag lapel pin. 

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What Really Happened

Trump, Nor Biden Broke The Dress Code

The dress code for the Pope’s funeral, per the Vatican, was dark suits and black ties. Trump did not break dress code by wearing a dark blue suit. Neither did dozens of other attendees, including Joe Biden (who sat a few rows behind President Trump).

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Hoaxology

The following hoax techniques were used to create this hoax:

Selective Reporting
The headlines and articles would selectively report the “problem” — highlighting Trump’s blue suit — while omitting key facts, such as the actual wording of the dress code (“dark suits” instead of specifically “black suits”). By not mentioning the true standard, the reporting skews reality and encourages the reader to assume Trump violated protocol. This method relies on telling only part of the story, leaving out critical information that would have shown Trump complied perfectly well with the rules.

Strategic Ambiguity
The way the headlines are worded — saying Trump “broke the funeral dress code” without specifying exactly what the dress code required — uses strategic ambiguity. Readers are nudged to assume that “dark suits” must mean black suits only, even though the actual standard was broader. By being vague and leaving out specifics, the media avoids making an outright false statement while still guiding the audience to a misleading conclusion through assumption and bias.

Highlighting Emotional Reaction & Sensationalized Reporting
The idea that Trump disrespected a solemn event like a pope’s funeral by dressing improperly taps into emotional outrage and respect for tradition. Instead of focusing on the substance (what the rules actually said), the reporting highlights a perceived slight and uses emotional language to provoke anger or disappointment. Sensationalizing the “disrespect” shifts attention from the facts to emotional judgment, making the story stick more in people’s minds even if it’s baseless.

Circular Reporting
If the story about Trump “breaking the funeral dress code” started in one outlet — even if it was weakly sourced or based on misleading interpretations — and then other news outlets picked it up by citing the original report without independently verifying the dress code details, that would be circular reporting. Each outlet would treat the previous article as evidence, giving the appearance that “everyone” is confirming the story. Over time, the repetition across multiple platforms would make it seem like an established fact that Trump disrespected the funeral dress code, even though no solid verification ever happened. The constant echoing creates artificial credibility for a false or misleading claim.