Trump and Pope Leo are currently the most powerful Americans on Earth. They lead in different ways and areas.

One new American leader's motto is "Fight!" The other, a new pope, said "Peace" as his first public word.

The differences between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago, are very clear. This is true politically, personally, and in how they see the world. They have different jobs and work in different areas.

Now that Leo, who is American, is the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics, the two most powerful people in the world are Americans. This makes people think about how much influence America has, especially because Trump's disagreements about trade have changed the world and made other countries trust the United States less.

Many people thought the Catholic Church didn't choose an American as Pope for nearly 250 years. They were concerned about the United States having too much power in the world. However, last week, Pope Leo XIV, who used to be Cardinal Robert F. Prevost from Chicago, was chosen to be the 267th Pope.

David Gibson, who leads a center at Fordham University, said it's interesting that many people around the world will see Leo's election as a sign of hope, thinking he will speak for them instead of acting against them.

Pope Leo is a different kind of American on the world stage.

People were surprised and happy when the less famous cardinal was chosen, but soon they started talking a lot about how two Americans could be in the highest positions of global power.

People say Trump doesn't like sharing attention, which is clear from his "America first" foreign policy. American Catholics chose Trump instead of the Democrat, Kamala Harris.

Trump seemed to want to connect with a certain group, so he shared an AI picture of himself dressed like a pope when Pope Francis died on April 21st. Some Catholics and Italians were not happy about this. Trump said he didn't post the picture and that people who were upset didn't understand a joke. He claimed that "the Catholics thought it was great."

Despite this, Trump wished Leo luck and said it was a "great honor" that the new pope was American.

People said that Pope Leo is also a kind of politician. He is calm and speaks to the other cardinals in small groups before the meeting to choose the new Pope. He was born in Chicago, but he worked as a missionary in Peru for 20 years. Then, in 2023, Pope Francis chose him to be in charge of the important Vatican department that checks bishops all over the world.

He wouldn't be the first pope to get involved in world politics. For example, Pope John Paul II is known for helping to end communism. But Leo becomes pope after criticizing Vice President JD Vance, the most well-known Catholic politician in America, on social media. Leo disagrees with the government on important issues like immigration, which is a main focus for Trump, and the environment.

Like Trump, Leo is now focusing on the media. He asked for journalists who are in prison to be set free and said that everyone should protect free speech and the press. On the other hand, Trump has been aggressive towards journalists in many different places.

Trump and Pope Leo have different ways of leading.

In early February, Leo, whose name was still Prevost, shared an article from a Catholic magazine with the title, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to love some people more than others.”

This happened a few days after Vance, who is Catholic, talked about immigration on Fox News. He explained his ideas using a Christian belief, saying you should love your family first, then your neighbors, then your community, and then people in your country, before thinking about others in the world.

Speaking in Italian to a large crowd in St. Peter's Square, Leo talked about a new idea for the Church and how people should relate to each other. He said, "The Church needs to work together to build connections and welcome everyone, just like this square with its open arms."

Vance said the Pope's position is more important than politics and social media. He explained that it is difficult to see how an organization that is 2,000 years old can fit into American politics in 2025. He also said that it is better for everyone if the church focuses on helping people find their faith.

Steven Millies said that when Trump and Leo were both becoming well-known, it showed how religion and society met. He also said that religion and politics don't fit together well because they want different things.

Millies wrote in an email that Francis and Cardinal Prevost were acting like bishops. They were teaching the Gospel and showing that it always helps poor and suffering people. He added that this is not what Trump does as president, a TV star, or a businessman.

How American are Pope Leo's ideas about the world?

Experts say that because Leo has lived in Peru for many years and is a citizen of both countries, he understands people, power, religion, and politics more widely.

People think Leo will use his power differently than Trump, focusing on helping the poorest people first.

Although Leo is the first pope born in the U.S., it is better to think of him as the second pope from the Americas.

He said, "This shows a pope who leads the world by talking to people, not by staying separate. He believes power comes from helping others, not controlling them. It is hard to think of a bigger difference compared to the current government in the U.S."

Some American cardinals say Leo doesn't seem very American in how he acts or thinks, and his American background didn't really matter in him being chosen as pope. But Trump was very influential in the process.

Six American cardinals who were part of the meeting spoke at a press conference while American songs played loudly. One by one, they said Leo wasn't very American, even though he was from the USA. Someone said people were calling him "the least American of the American" cardinals. Some cardinals thought Leo would help connect with the government, just like the word "pontiff" means "bridge-builder" in Latin.

Several cardinals said no when asked if they chose Leo to balance Trump.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said he didn't think the other cardinals would have seen him as a challenge to anyone.

"Clearly, the cardinals knew about what had happened in the United States, including statements and political actions," said Wilton Gregory, the former archbishop of Washington. But he said the meeting's main goal was to choose someone who could make their faith stronger.

Millies said, "People shouldn't worry about a pope from the U.S. Actually, it's the opposite. He hasn't been involved in our recent politics because he's 'the least American of the Americans.' He might seem safer, even though he is an American who knows the good parts of this country very well."

Darlene Superville, a writer for Associated Press, helped with this report from Washington.