New Gallup poll finds Pope Leo XIV ranks most favorable among 14 figures making headlines

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2025 / 14:46 pm (CNA).

Results of a new Gallup poll reveal that Americans have a much more favorable view of Pope Leo XIV than a number of other prominent U.S. and global figures.

The polling company surveyed 1,002 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error was 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The participants were asked from July 7–21 if they have a “favorable” or “unfavorable” opinion of 14 figures making headlines in the news.

The results of the survey found that Americans have the most positive image of Pope Leo XIV among the newsmakers, with the majority (57%) reporting they have a “favorable” perception of him.

Pope Leo also had the lowest “unfavorable” rating with only 11%, 23 percentage points behind the second most “favorable” figure, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The rest of the participants reported they are either not familiar enough with Pope Leo to have an opinion (18%) or have not heard of him (13%).

Pope Leo had an overall net-favorable score of 46, well ahead of the other most favorable leads including Zelenskyy, who had an 18-point net score — 28 points behind Pope Leo; and Bernie Sanders, who had an 11-point score, 35 points less than the pope.

Pope Leo’s positive figures closely match Pope Francis’ ratings when he first assumed the role of pope in 2013. He was viewed favorably by 58% of participants and unfavorably by 10%. The results are also similar to Pope Benedict’s in 2005, which were 55% favorable and 12% unfavorable.

The Gallup reports found that all three pontiffs earned above-average support from American Catholics in their initial ratings, with Pope Leo viewed favorably by 76%, Francis by 80%, and Benedict by 67%.

Pope Leo does differ from his predecessors in that his favorable rating is higher among liberals (65%) than conservatives (46%), whereas Benedict and Francis were viewed more favorably by conservatives than liberals in their initial ratings. 

Among the other global figures Americans were asked about, the poll noted that French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, are viewed about as equally positively as negatively, with many Americans reporting they have no opinion of each.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (-5) was found to have a slightly negative perception, whereas Elon Musk (-28) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (-23) received more drastic negative results.

Some newsmakers rated more negatively than positively, including former president Joe Biden (-11), Vice President JD Vance (-11), California Gov. Gavin Newsom (-11), U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (-12), President Donald Trump (-16), and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (-16).

Overall, the first American-born pope has a large appeal in the United States. Unlike the political figures in the poll, he is viewed more favorably than unfavorably by all political parties but is liked more by Democrats than by Republicans. 

The poll is a part of Gallup’s “Social Series” that examines long-term U.S. trends on social, economic, and political topics by monitoring U.S. adults’ views.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/265795/new-gallup-poll-finds-pope-leo-xiv-ranks-most-favorable-among-14-figures-making-headlines