Before the US presidential election in 2024, the Pope declined to say whether people should vote for Trump or for his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, merely urging people to choose “the lesser evil” according to their conscience.

During the interview on Sunday evening, Francis also touched on the issue of migration to Europe, saying there was “a lot of cruelty” and that everyone had “the right to remain home and the right to emigrate”.

The Pope also added that some of the southern European countries that receive the most migrant arrivals “are not having any children and need manpower”.

“In some of these countries, there are entire villages that are empty. A good, well-thought out migrant policy would help countries like Italy and Spain too,” he said.

In another section of the interview, Francis was asked about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and said he did not know why making peace was so difficult.

“I don’t know why… it’s as if there was an international drive towards self-destruction,” the Pope said.

Francis, 88, has been in the post since 2013, when he was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.