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Pope Leo Is Winning the Newsmakers Popularity Contest

Pontiff tops Gallup list of prominent US, world figures, with 57% favorable approval rating
Posted Aug 5, 2025 6:35 AM CDT
Out of 14 Headline-Makers, Pope Leo Is Most Popular
Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Sorry, Volodymyr—Pope Leo XIV is a bit more popular than you. Gallup has a new survey out listing the favorability ratings for more than a dozen prominent US and world luminaries, and the new pontiff comes in at No. 1, with a 57% favorable rating (11% unfavorable, 31% no opinion/never heard of the person). Gallup notes that the two popes before Leo did similarly well during their debut years, with Pope Francis earning a 58% favorable rating in 2013 (10% unfavorable), and Pope Benedict seeing 55% favorability in 2005 (12% unfavorable). Coming in last among the 14 newsmakers included in the survey: Elon Musk, with a 61% unfavorable rating (33% favorable); just 6% had no opinion of the Tesla CEO. Check out how the others on the list did:

  1. Pope Leo XIV; 57% favorable, 11% unfavorable, 31% no opinion
  2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; 52% favorable, 34% unfavorable, 14% no opinion
  3. Sen. Bernie Sanders; 49% favorable, 38% unfavorable, 14% no opinion
  4. French President Emmanuel Macron; 30% favorable, 31% unfavorable, 39% no opinion
  5. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; 34% favorable, 38% unfavorable, 28% no opinion
  6. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy; 42% favorable, 47% unfavorable, 10% no opinion
  7. Former President Biden; 43% favorable, 54% unfavorable, 3% no opinion
  8. Vice President JD Vance; 38% favorable, 49% unfavorable, 13% no opinion
  9. California Gov. Gavin Newsom; 30% favorable, 41% unfavorable, 28% no opinion
  10. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; 26% favorable, 38% unfavorable, 37% no opinion
  11. President Trump; 41% favorable, 57% unfavorable, 2% no opinion
  12. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; 31% favorable, 47% unfavorable, 22% no opinion
  13. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu; 22% favorable, 59% unfavorable, 19% no opinion
  14. Elon Musk; 33% favorable, 61% unfavorable, 6% no opinion
Read more analysis here.

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