The relationship between the Republican Party and the Vatican has been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump made disparaging comments about Pope Leo XIV. New polling indicates that Americans disapprove of the president's comments. Here is a closer look at the escalating situation and where it stands now.

Polling Reveals Objections to Trump's Feud with the Vatican

The results are clear. Most Americans disapprove of President Trump's recent comments about the head of the Catholic Church. But what has drawn the most objection is an AI image of Trump depicting himself as Jesus Christ.

According to the results from a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, 87% of Americans signaled a negative reaction to an AI image of Trump dressed in white and red robes with his hand on a sick man's forehead. The image, posted by Trump on his Truth Social account, also features a light coming from the president's other hand, an American flag, and an American eagle. It was not a big jump to interpret the image as Trump depicting himself as Christ-like.

The poll was conducted between April 24 and 28, just a few weeks after Trump posted the image on April 12. The post was deleted from the president's social media platform just one day after it was first published due to widespread backlash. In addition to the expected criticism from the president's adversaries, many of his biggest supporters also came out against the image.

Trump doubled down and defended the image, telling the media gathered at the White House that he was trying to convey that he was associated with the Red Cross. The president said that it was the fake news interpreting the image as Christ, saying that he was simply trying to send the message that he makes "people a lot better."

According to the poll, 80% of Trump voters and 79% of Republicans had a negative reaction to the president's post. The image was posted shortly after Trump wrote a long message on his social media account criticizing the pope. The president has not been shy about calling out the pope for being "weak on crime, weak on nuclear weapons." The pope did not back down, saying that he has "no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel."

Trump did not let the story end there. On April 15, he reshared a different AI-generated image depicting himself being embraced by Christ. The post puts Trump under an angelic light with an American flag circling him and the depiction of Jesus.

Other Poll Results

The same Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll also found that a majority of Americans surveyed did not approve of Trump's controversial Truth Social post about the Iran war. This April 7 post sparked widespread criticism by people on both sides of the political aisle, particularly the part where Trump threatened that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." Critics of the Trump administration said that the post implied the use of nuclear weapons if Iran did not agree to a deal with the U.S.

Roughly 53% of Americans polled "strongly" disapproved of the post about wiping out a civilization. Not surprisingly, the post drew condemnation from theologians and Democrats. About 72% of non-Christians reported a negative reaction to the post, compared to 75% of the Catholics polled and 70% of Protestants.

In addition, 69% of Americans polled signaled that they disapproved of U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praying for American troops to inflict what he called "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy."

On the other end of the spectrum, many Americans surveyed gave Pope Leo favorable ratings. The poll found that the pontiff enjoys a 25-point net favorable margin with Americans overall. The specific breakdown came in with 41% indicating a favorable response to the pope, 16% polling as unfavorable, and 43% noting that they have no opinion.

The latest poll also found that 66% of Americans surveyed reacted positively to Pope Leo asking Americans to contact their congressional representatives to ask them to work for peace and reject the war. This compares to 57% of Americans who had a negative reaction to Trump's post that read "I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

Not surprisingly, 70% of Catholic-Americans had a positive reaction to the pontiff asking Americans to reach out to Congress, while 61% of that group were negative toward the president's social media post about the pope and his views on Iran. The pope's overall favorability among Catholic-Americans came in at 61% in this poll, compared to just 14% who said they disapprove of the job the pope is doing. One-quarter of these Catholics surveyed have no opinion.

Trump's overall approval rating continues to slide, coming in at only 37% with this round of polling. This compares to an approval rating of 45% one month after he took office in February of 2025.

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