A new poll shows President Trump trailing Pope Leo XIV by 54 percentage points when it comes to net favorability.
The Economist/YouGov survey, released Monday, found that 55 percent of respondents viewed the pontiff favorably, while 37 percent viewed the president favorably. Twenty-three percent said they view Leo unfavorably, compared to 59 percent who view Trump in the same way.
Overall, Leo has a net favorability of +32, while Trump’s is -22.
Both were viewed more favorably by men than women.
The survey found 62 percent of women respondents viewed the president unfavorably, while 55 percent of men did so.
When it comes to the pontiff, 20 percent of women said they view the pontiff unfavorably, compared to 27 percent of men.
Leo is the first American pope and made headlines with his election to the role in May 2025.
Since he started leading the Catholic Church, Leo has made it a point to promote peace efforts internationally, urging leaders to end all forms of war.
In April, Trump knocked the leader for remarks he viewed as being directed toward ending the Iran war and alleged Leo wanted Tehran to have a nuclear weapon, sparking backlash with some Catholic Republicans.
“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” he added.
The pope later said his comments weren’t directed at Trump and clarified his intentions by pushing for peace.
However, Trump has not backed down.
On Saturday, Trump criticized Leo again — this time for meeting with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) at the Vatican.
The Economist/YouGov survey collected responses from May 29 to June 1 with 1,604 respondents. The margin of error for the poll is 3.5 percent, or 3.2 percent for registered voters.
