Americans favour one figure more than Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders, and he doesn't even live in the US

Whoever thought Americans would favour a person living outside the US over popular and influential personas such as their president, Donald Trump, Senator Bernie Sanders, California Governor Gavin Newsom and many other figures.

The Gallup poll, conducted from July 7-21 among 1,002 participants, found that Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history, has a net favourable rating of 46%- the highest among 14 U.S. and global newsmakers.


While Sanders has a rating of 11%, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was more popular with an 18% rating.

How do Americans feel about their leading lads?

These were the only favourable ratings. Other American popular figures like New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who did go viral on social media for a while, had a surprising net favouring of negative 4%.

Former president Joe Biden, Vice President JD Vance and Gov. Newsom all have a rating of negative 11% and Trump followed close with a negative favourable rating of 16%.

Topping the negative rating were billionaire Elon Musk and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with 28% and 23% ratings, respectively.

Trump administration on a decline?

The poll also found that the favourability rating of Trump administration officials had decreased since January. For example, Musk's net favourable rating was negative 4% as per a Gallup poll conducted from January 21-27.

Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who oversaw the dismissal of the U.S. Agency for International Development programs, had a net favourable rating of 8% in January that now stands at negative 16%.

In a year when public trust seems more fragile than ever, the results paint a striking picture: even faith is polling better than politics.