Poll finds Americans view Pope Leo XIV more favorably than all of these prominent figures
WASHINGTON - Americans view Pope Leo XIV more favorably than President Donald Trump, Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other prominent figures, according to a new poll.
The Gallup poll, conducted July 7-July 21, found that Pope Leo XIV has a net favorable rating of 46%, the highest among 14 U.S. and global newsmakers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a net favorable rating of 18% while Sanders has a rating of 11%.
In comparison, the other figures on the list are rated more negatively rather than positively. New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who's traveled across the U.S. with Sanders on a 'fighting oligarchy' tour, has a net favorable rating of negative 4%.
Former President Joe Biden, Vice President JD Vance and Newsom all have a net favorable rating of negative 11%, while Trump's rating is negative 16%, according to the poll. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and billionaire Elon Musk have the two lowest net favorable ratings: negative 23% and negative 28% respectively.
The poll also found that the favorability rating of Trump administration officials has gone down since January. For instance, Musk's net favorable rating was negative 4% according to a Gallup poll conducted Jan. 21-Jan. 27.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who oversaw the purge of U.S. Agency for International Development programs, had a net favorable rating of 8% in January. Now it's at negative 16%.
The poll of 1,002 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
CF Industries misses quarterly profit estimates on higher costs; shares fall
(Reuters) -CF Industries missed estimates for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher costs weighed on the fertilizer firm, sending its shares down 4.3% in extended trading. The company's quarterly cost of sales was up about 27% at $1.14 billion from a year earlier on higher natural gas costs, which were up 77% at $3.36 per million British thermal units. U.S. natural gas prices, a key feedstock for nitrogen fertilizers, rose in the second quarter as power demand spiked on the back of energy-hungry data centers, escalating production costs for fertilizer producers. The Northbrook, Illinois-based company reported an adjusted profit of $2.35 per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with the analysts' average estimate of $2.54, according to data compiled by LSEG. Crop prices — including those of soybean, wheat and corn — have been falling in recent quarters due to oversupply and weakening demand, forcing farmers to cut back spending on fertilizers, affecting companies such as CF Industries. Peer Mosaic also missed second-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, as higher costs weighed against gains from stronger potash prices and robust sales in Brazil. CF Industries' quarterly net earnings attributable to common stockholders fell about 8% to $386 million from a year earlier. The results come at a time when the agrichemical industry is bracing itself for a potential fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on most imports, which are expected to lower demand and curb farmers' spending. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Pete Buttigieg Listed These 4 Ways The Trump Admin Is Making Americans' Lives "Worse," And It's So Simple Yet So True
Former secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg is being applauded online for his recent, simple breakdown on all the ways Donald Trump's chosen cabinet is negatively impacting Americans' lives. While sitting down for NPR's Morning Edition, Pete insisted that Democrats need to change their approach if they want to reach voters. "We do have to look at what we're doing that makes it hard to hear what we have to say," he told host Steve Inskeep. "Too often we talk in terms that are academic. When we're talking about deeply important things, like freedom and democracy, we still have to have a way of talking about it that relates to how everyday life is different." Related: As an example, Pete shared ways our "everyday life is different and worse" under Trump's presidency, because, as he said, "When you have an autocrat in power, he can get away with appointing incompetent people over very important things in our lives." To start, he said, "Right now we have the secretary of defense — in charge of defending the American people — who was accidentally texting military strike information to journalists." This, of course, is in reference to reporting from the Atlantic that claimed the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat where former Fox & Friends Weekend host, now Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, discussed sensitive war plans. "We have the person in charge of American public health, who is a quack who doesn't believe in medicine, and now measles is on the rise in America," he continued. Here, Pete is referring to Health Secretary RFK Jr., who commonly and vocally questions the safety of vaccines and even suggested the measles vaccine causes autism in children. Now, 20 years after measles was declared to be eliminated in the United States, outbreaks are popping up around the US as the public grows skeptical of vaccines under the new administration. Related: "We have a secretary of education — in charge of your kid's educational well-being — who has spoken about the importance of 'A1,' which means she does not understand that the acronym is AI, which means she does not understand the most important development affecting education in our lifetimes." Education Secretary Linda McMahon — yes, the former CEO of WWE — confused AI technology with A1, the name of a popular steak sauce. While speaking at a summit in April, McMahon said, "A school system that's going to start making sure that first graders, or even pre-Ks, have A1 teaching in every year. That's a wonderful thing!" Pete continued, "We have a secretary of homeland security who sat on funding and did not allow it to go to Texas during the floods for at least two days for no good reason." Finally, we have Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who reportedly decided to enact a rule requiring her personal sign-off on any grant or contract over $100,000. The move was heavily criticized amid the deadly flooding in Texas earlier this year, as some argue the signature delayed getting aid to those who needed it. Related: "So these things do affect you," Pete concluded. "Not for academic reasons, but because of what happens when you have a loss of accountability. Those are the kinds of things I think we need to talk about before anybody can hear us." A clip of Pete's simple yet effective explanation was shared to X, formerly known as Twitter, where it garnered over 1.7 million views and over 1,000 comments. By and large, people are calling Pete's breakdown "brilliant." One person said, "This breakdown of the incompetence of the administration is simple yet brilliant. And the reality of how they're affecting peoples' REAL lives is heartbreaking and infuriating." "Last thirty seconds should be mandatory listening," another agreed. "The loss of accountability over trumps horrible yes men stooge picks for cabinet undeniably makes your life worse as an American. It isn't up for debate." Others called Pete "the best communicator in US politics"... Related: ...and insisted, "This is who We The People employ!!!" Talks like this have made Pete a favorite amongst voters looking to the future of the Democratic Party. And even some abroad. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments. Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Lebanon's Hezbollah rejects cabinet decision to disarm it
Hezbollah said Wednesday that it would treat a Lebanese government decision to disarm the militant group "as if it did not exist", accusing the cabinet of committing a "grave sin". Amid heavy US pressure and fears Israel could expand its strikes on Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that the government had tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict weapons to government forces by year end. The plan is to be presented to the government by the end of August for discussion and approval, and another cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday to continue the talks, including on a US-proposed timetable for disarmament. Hezbollah said the government had "committed a grave sin by taking the decision to disarm Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy". The decision is unprecedented since Lebanon's civil war factions gave up their weapons three and a half decades ago. "This decision undermines Lebanon's sovereignty and gives Israel a free hand to tamper with its security, geography, politics and future existence... Therefore, we will treat this decision as if it does not exist," the Iran-backed group said in a statement. - 'Serves Israel's interests' - The government said its decision came as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in two months of full-blown war. Hezbollah said it viewed the government's move as "the result of dictates from US envoy" Tom Barrack. It "fully serves Israel's interests and leaves Lebanon exposed to the Israeli enemy without any deterrence", the group said. Hezbollah was the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. It emerged weakened politically and militarily from its latest conflict with Israel, its arsenal pummelled and its senior leadership decimated. Israel has kept up its strikes on Hezbollah and other targets despite the November truce, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group has been disarmed. An Israeli strike on the southern town of Tulin on Wednesday killed one person and wounded another, the health ministry said. Israel also launched a series of air strikes on southern Lebanon, wounding at least two people according to the health ministry. The Israeli military said it struck "weapons storage facilities, a missile launcher and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure which stored engineering tools that allowed for the re-establishment of terrorist infrastructure in the area". Hezbollah said Israel must halt the attacks before any domestic debate about its weapons and a new defence strategy could begin. - 'Pivotal moment' - "We are open to dialogue, ending the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, liberating its land, releasing prisoners, working to build the state, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the brutal aggression," the group said. Hezbollah is "prepared to discuss a national security strategy", but not under Israeli fire, it added. Two ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement walked out of Tuesday's meeting. Hezbollah described the walkout as "an expression of rejection" of the government's "decision to subject Lebanon to American tutelage and Israeli occupation". The Amal movement, headed by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, accused the government of "rushing to offer more gratuitous concessions" to Israel when it should have sought to end the ongoing attacks. It called Thursday's cabinet meeting "an opportunity for correction". Hezbollah opponent the Lebanese Forces, one of the country's two main Christian parties, said the cabinet's decision to disarm the militant group was "a pivotal moment in Lebanon's modern history -- a long-overdue step toward restoring full state authority and sovereignty". The Free Patriotic Movement, the other major Christian party and a former ally of Hezbollah, said it was in favour of the army receiving the group's weapons "to strengthen Lebanon's defensive power". Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview that any decision on disarmament "will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself". "We support it from afar, but we do not intervene in its decisions," he added, noting that the group had "rebuilt itself" following setbacks during its war with Israel. lar/lg-nad/js