U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on social media that Pope Leo XIV was "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy." A survey conducted between May 26 and June 1, 2026, found 78% of U.S. Catholics expressed a favorable view of the pontiff.

Overall favorable views of Pope Leo XIV among U.S. Catholics decreased from 84% in August 2025. The survey, which included 1,848 Catholics, also found that 51% of U.S. Catholics stated that Trump had been too critical of him. Meanwhile, 14% of U.S. Catholics thought Trump was striking the right balance regarding the pontiff, and 4% stated Trump had not been critical enough.

The survey further explored Catholic opinions on Pope Leo XIV's relationship with the Trump administration. 19% of U.S. Catholics stated that the pontiff had been too critical of the administration, while 16% believed he had not been critical enough. 35% of U.S. Catholics stated that the pontiff was striking the right balance. 30% of U.S. Catholics indicated they were unsure, had no opinion, or had never heard of him regarding his approach to the administration, and 31% gave similar responses regarding Trump's approach.

The survey of 9,750 U.S. adults was conducted following public disagreements between the pontiff and Trump, including those relating to the conflict in Iran and other policy matters. In April 2026, the pontiff criticized armed conflict and attributed it to unnamed leaders having a delusion of omnipotence. The American-born pontiff's favorability varied among different Catholic demographics.

85% of U.S. Catholics who attend Mass at least weekly viewed the pontiff favorably. This figure was 79% among those who attend Mass monthly or a few times a year, and 73% among those who rarely or never attend Mass. Favorable views were held by 80% of White U.S. Catholics and 75% of Hispanic U.S. Catholics. Both U.S. Catholic men and women showed 78% favorable views.

Among political affiliations, 72% of Catholic Republicans and Republican-leaning independents viewed the pontiff favorably. This contrasts with 84% of Catholic Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who held a favorable view. The Catholic respondent sample in the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.