Pope Leo XIV currently outranks Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elon Musk in popularity among US citizens.
A new Gallup study released on August 5 compared the popularity of 14 global newsmakers, ranging from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to US Vice President JD Vance.
Pope Leo XIV outranked all of them. His high rating of 57% favorable is on par with the initial ratings of previous new popes.
After his election in 2013, Pope Francis gained a favorable view of 58%, and Pope Benedict showing similar ratings, around 55% favorable, after assuming the role of pontiff in 2005.
Interestingly, Pope Leo differs from the two previous Catholic pontiffs by having a higher favorable rating among liberals than conservatives (65% vs. 46%).
However, unlike the public figures in the poll, Pope Leo was viewed more favorably than unfavorably across the entire political spectrum. This could be attributed to his broad political appeal and the universality of his messages thus far.
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