Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Rises With Catholics After Bashing Pope Leo

ThatRobGuy · Apr 23, 2026

Trump’s approval rating rises with Catholics after bashing Pope Leo

The president escalated the feud publicly by launching direct personal attacks on the pontiff, saying he "should get his act together."

www.newsweek.com

Perhaps there's some division within the Catholic ranks about which direction(s) the Church leadership has been going in?

I'll have to defer to the Catholics on the forums to weigh-in on what they think could be an explanation. While I have some family members who are Catholics, I'm by no means "in the know" about the internal discussions within their ranks.

Some of the aforementioned Catholics in my family have tossed around jabs like "Lib pope" to refer to a few of the recent ones, and have hinted that more conservative parishes are still doing their own thing and adding Popes' opinions to the "pay no mind" list. But like I said, I'm not in the group, so I don't get invited to the meetings.

Maria Billingsley · Apr 24, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
Trump’s approval rating rises with Catholics after bashing Pope Leo

The president escalated the feud publicly by launching direct personal attacks on the pontiff, saying he "should get his act together."

www.newsweek.com

Perhaps there's some division within the Catholic ranks about which direction(s) the Church leadership has been going in?

I'll have to defer to the Catholics on the forums to weigh-in on what they think could be an explanation. While I have some family members who are Catholics, I'm by no means "in the know" about the internal discussions within their ranks.

Some of the aforementioned Catholics in my family have tossed around jabs like "Lib pope" to refer to a few of the recent ones, and have hinted that more conservative parishes are still doing their own thing and adding Popes' opinions to the "pay no mind" list. But like I said, I'm not in the group, so I don't get invited to the meetings.

They are part of the angry 30% who follow him no matter what he does and say.
Thanks for sharing.

ThatRobGuy · Apr 24, 2026

Maria Billingsley said:
They are part of the angry 30% who follow him no matter what he does and say.
Thanks for sharing.

I know there was a certain cohort within their ranks that's "Trump First - everything else second" no matter what.

But in this instance, his approval rating among Catholics actually went up. So that would indicate that it's possible that some Catholics may not have been terribly thrilled with the new Pope.

A group following him no matter what would (I would think) be reflected by steady approval numbers among a cohort, that didn't move regardless of what he said.

An increase would mean that there was someone who was disapproving before, but now approving.

rambot · Apr 24, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
I know there was a certain cohort within their ranks that's "Trump First - everything else second" no matter what.

But in this instance, his approval rating among Catholics actually went up. So that would indicate that it's possible that some Catholics may not have been terribly thrilled with the new Pope.

A group following him no matter what would (I would think) be reflected by steady approval numbers among a cohort, that didn't move regardless of what he said.

An increase would mean that there was someone who was disapproving before, but now approving.

Given his staggering drop across most demographics I would say that this reflects something wonky is going on with catholicism in the US.

I've seen these numbers increasing and I've been concerned that it's swelling due to a kind of Trump branded Christianity.

Perhaps that hypothesis isn't insane.

RocksInMyHead · Apr 24, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
So that would indicate that it's possible that some Catholics may not have been terribly thrilled with the new Pope.

This is not some sort of earth-shattering revelation. There's a fairly sizable cohort of Catholics (mostly in the US) who really did not like the previous Pope, and Pope Leo has generally been following in Francis's footsteps on a lot of matters.

Maria Billingsley · Apr 24, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
I know there was a certain cohort within their ranks that's "Trump First - everything else second" no matter what.

But in this instance, his approval rating among Catholics actually went up. So that would indicate that it's possible that some Catholics may not have been terribly thrilled with the new Pope.

A group following him no matter what would (I would think) be reflected by steady approval numbers among a cohort, that didn't move regardless of what he said.

An increase would mean that there was someone who was disapproving before, but now approving.

There are a few reasons for the radical surge in the Catholic church, the popularity of Pope Leo and Erika Kirk along with internet subcultures. The Catholic church is currently in a "growing pain" phase, trying to welcome the thousands of new seekers (the wheat) while remaining vigilant about those who might be using the faith as a cover for radicalization (the tares). The fact that Donald Trump's approval rating is rising among this new phenomenon leads me to believe that the latter is more the case. Beware.

GoldenBoy89 · Apr 24, 2026

Ignoring the Pope is a time honored Catholic tradition.

ThatRobGuy · Apr 24, 2026

RocksInMyHead said:
This is not some sort of earth-shattering revelation. There's a fairly sizable cohort of Catholics (mostly in the US) who really did not like the previous Pope, and Pope Leo has generally been following in Francis's footsteps on a lot of matters.

Maria Billingsley said:
There are a few reasons for the radical surge in the Catholic church, the popularity of Pope Leo and Erika Kirk along with internet subcultures.

I know in the case of my family members who are Catholic, most are Irish Catholics (due to the heavy concentration of Irish that were in the particular suburb dating back to the 40s) -- not sure how much of a difference that makes. I know some who defected and became "fellow heathens" noted that their Churches were stricter and a little more rigid on certain social matters compared to when they'd visit another parish in the area.

Valletta · Apr 25, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
I know there was a certain cohort within their ranks that's "Trump First - everything else second" no matter what.

But in this instance, his approval rating among Catholics actually went up. So that would indicate that it's possible that some Catholics may not have been terribly thrilled with the new Pope.

A group following him no matter what would (I would think) be reflected by steady approval numbers among a cohort, that didn't move regardless of what he said.

An increase would mean that there was someone who was disapproving before, but now approving.

I like Pope Leo, but he made a political mistake in criticizing Trump during crucial negotiations with an evil twisted regime that had just murdered tens of thousands of people. Trump could not show weakness to Iran in such a situation by publicly agreeing with the pope that he should tone down his threats. The pope is new, he would have done much better to open a private dialogue with President Trump and then prayerfully addressed how to move forward.

Pommer · Apr 25, 2026

Valletta said:
I like Pope Leo, but he made a political mistake in criticizing Trump during crucial negotiations with an evil twisted regime that had just murdered tens of thousands of people. Trump could not show weakness to Iran in such a situation by publicly agreeing with the pope that he should tone down his threats. The pope is new, he would have done much better to open a private dialogue with President Trump and then prayerfully addressed how to move forward.

Gee, it’s almost as if you’re arguing against mixing politics and religion and for some sort of separation of church and state.

Valletta · Apr 25, 2026

Pommer said:
Gee, it’s almost as if you’re arguing against mixing politics and religion and for some sort of separation of church and state.

If the Holy Spirit leads the pope to speak out after dialogue and prayerful discernment, he should do so. For example, Pope Pius XII gave that famous Christmas speech "heard round the world" which the NY Times described as a "lonely voice crying out in the silence of a continent." As to wall of separation of Church and State, I absolutely agree with the meaning as laid out by Thomas Jefferson.

RileyG · Apr 25, 2026

I stand with the Holy Father. Trump can filter himself, sometimes.

DaisyDay · Apr 25, 2026

RileyG said:
Trump can filter himself, sometimes.

Decreasingly so. We are seeing him at his current best.

JSRG · Apr 25, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
Trump’s approval rating rises with Catholics after bashing Pope Leo

The president escalated the feud publicly by launching direct personal attacks on the pontiff, saying he "should get his act together."

www.newsweek.com

Perhaps there's some division within the Catholic ranks about which direction(s) the Church leadership has been going in?

I'll have to defer to the Catholics on the forums to weigh-in on what they think could be an explanation. While I have some family members who are Catholics, I'm by no means "in the know" about the internal discussions within their ranks.

Some of the aforementioned Catholics in my family have tossed around jabs like "Lib pope" to refer to a few of the recent ones, and have hinted that more conservative parishes are still doing their own thing and adding Popes' opinions to the "pay no mind" list. But like I said, I'm not in the group, so I don't get invited to the meetings.

So here's the important data from the polls.

That margin narrowed one month later. A second Fox News poll conducted March 20-23, 2026, surveyed 1,001 registered voters using the same methodology, again with a plus or minus 3‑point margin of error.

Nationally, Trump’s approval dipped to 41 percent, while 59 percent disapproved, widening his net negative rating to minus 18.

Among Catholics, approval slipped to 48 percent, with 52 percent disapproving, flipping his net rating with the group to minus 4.

...

A Fox News national poll conducted April 17-20, 2026, again surveying registered voters drawn from a national voter file and interviewed by phone or online, showed Trump’s national approval inching back up to 42 percent, with 58 percent disapproving, for a net rating of minus 16. The margin of error remained plus or minus 3 points.

Among Catholics, Trump’s approval rebounded to 51 percent, while 49 percent disapproved, restoring him to net‑positive territory with the group—even after weeks of headline‑dominating confrontation with the Vatican.

So the first poll was 48-52 with a 3% margin of error, and the second was 51-49 with a 3% margin of error. This means that the shifts fall within the margin of error. Therefore, any perceived "rise" is meaningless.

RileyG · Apr 25, 2026

DaisyDay said:
Decreasingly so. We are seeing him at his current best.

I worded that wrong. It would be nice if he filtered himself more often. My bad.

Valletta · Apr 26, 2026

RileyG said:
I worded that wrong. It would be nice if he filtered himself more often. My bad.

To paraphrase Senator Kennedy, Trump "never let's a thought go unspoken." That kind of personality, the New York aggressive kind of personality, turns a lot of people off and has been a liability for Trump, but it's an asset with dealing with evil regimes like Iran. I myself did not vote for Trump the first time but saw the forces of evil rising against him and our country.

Nithavela · Apr 26, 2026

Perhaps it's time for an alternative pope. Wouldn't be the first time.

Hvizsgyak · Apr 26, 2026

Nithavela said:
Perhaps it's time for an alternative pope. Wouldn't be the first time.

I disagree. Pope Leo hasn't hit his full stride yet. He'll come around. He's the type of person who learns quickly from his mistakes. There are many important issues he is aware of and is working on. So, he'll deal with Trump in his own way and in his own time.

Pope Leo has learned from the mistakes of Pope Francis on how to bring an authentic conversion of hearts back the Christ when dealing with the controversial issues of the day - the slaughter of the innocents due to war and aggression, the purposeful disregard by governments for the plight of the poor, sick and vulnerable in society, the complex need for Christians to love, care and support all people no matter what their walk in life (poor, foreigners, addicts, stubborn, weak, arrogant, feminist, ignorant, conservative, liberal, rich, gay, male chauvinist, poorly educated and so on).

RileyG · Apr 27, 2026

Hvizsgyak said:
I disagree. Pope Leo hasn't hit his full stride yet. He'll come around. He's the type of person who learns quickly from his mistakes. There are many important issues he is aware of and is working on. So, he'll deal with Trump in his own way and in his own time.

Pope Leo has learned from the mistakes of Pope Francis on how to bring an authentic conversion of hearts back the Christ when dealing with the controversial issues of the day - the slaughter of the innocents due to war and aggression, the purposeful disregard by governments for the plight of the poor, sick and vulnerable in society, the complex need for Christians to love, care and support all people no matter what their walk in life (poor, foreigners, addicts, stubborn, weak, arrogant, feminist, ignorant, conservative, liberal, rich, gay, male chauvinist, poorly educated and so on).

He's a very smart man. He knows what he is doing.

Hans Blaster · Apr 27, 2026

JSRG said:
So here's the important data from the polls.

That margin narrowed one month later. A second Fox News poll conducted March 20-23, 2026, surveyed 1,001 registered voters using the same methodology, again with a plus or minus 3‑point margin of error.

Nationally, Trump’s approval dipped to 41 percent, while 59 percent disapproved, widening his net negative rating to minus 18.

Among Catholics, approval slipped to 48 percent, with 52 percent disapproving, flipping his net rating with the group to minus 4.

...

A Fox News national poll conducted April 17-20, 2026, again surveying registered voters drawn from a national voter file and interviewed by phone or online, showed Trump’s national approval inching back up to 42 percent, with 58 percent disapproving, for a net rating of minus 16. The margin of error remained plus or minus 3 points.

Among Catholics, Trump’s approval rebounded to 51 percent, while 49 percent disapproved, restoring him to net‑positive territory with the group—even after weeks of headline‑dominating confrontation with the Vatican.

So the first poll was 48-52 with a 3% margin of error, and the second was 51-49 with a 3% margin of error. This means that the shifts fall within the margin of error. Therefore, any perceived "rise" is meaningless.

The 3% margin of error is for the over all result using the full sample. The MOE will be larger for a subset like "Catholics" or "boomers" or "males". With Catholics at about 20% of adults the MOE should be about twice as large for the measurement of their opinions.

Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Rises With Catholics After Bashing Pope Leo

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