Trump and Pope Leo are currently the most powerful Americans on Earth. They have different jobs and areas of influence.

One new American leader said his motto is 'Fight!' The other leader, the pope, introduced himself to the world by saying 'Peace.'

President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV of Chicago are very different in their politics, personalities, and how they see the world. They have different jobs and areas of influence.

But because Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, was recently elected to lead 1.4 billion Catholics, the two most powerful people in the world are now American. This brings up questions about how much influence the U.S. has, especially since Trump's actions have changed global relationships and made allies less trusting of the United States.

Many people thought the Catholic Church didn't choose an American as Pope for nearly 250 years. They worried that the United States would become too powerful in the world. However, last week, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost from Chicago was chosen to be the 267th Pope. He is now called Pope Leo XIV.

David Gibson, who is in charge of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, said that it's interesting that many people in other countries will see Leo's election as a sign of hope. They think of him as an American who will speak for them instead of acting against them.

Pope Leo is a different kind of American leader in the world.

At first, people were surprised and happy about the less famous cardinal being chosen. But soon, they started talking seriously about how two Americans could be in charge of the global organization.

Trump likes to be the most important person and does not like sharing attention. This is clear from his "America First" policy.

During the period of sadness after the death of Pope Francis on April 21, it seemed like Trump tried to connect with some people by sharing a picture created by AI that showed him dressed as a pope. Some Catholics and Italians were unhappy about this. Trump said he didn't post the picture and that people who were upset "can't understand humor." He strongly believed that "Catholics really liked it."

Still, Trump wished Leo well and said it was a "great honor" that the new pope was American.

According to reports, Pope Leo can also be seen as a politician. He is calm and speaks to small groups of cardinals before the meeting to choose a new Pope. Although he was born in Chicago, Leo (who was called Prevost at the time) worked for twenty years as a missionary in Peru. Then, in 2023, Pope Francis chose him to be in charge of an important Vatican office that checks on bishops globally.

He wouldn't be the first pope to get involved in world politics. For example, Pope John Paul II is seen as helping to end communism. But Leo becomes pope after he had already criticized Vice President JD Vance, the most important Catholic politician in America, on social media. Leo disagrees with the government on policies like immigration, which is Trump's main issue, and the environment.

Like Trump, Leo has focused on the media. On Monday in Vatican City, he asked for jailed journalists to be freed and said that everyone should protect the important gift of free speech and the press. On the other hand, Trump has fought with journalists, from the White House to the courts.

Trump and Pope Leo have different approaches as leaders.

In early February, Leo, whose last name was still Prevost, shared an article from a Catholic newspaper 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 now Catholic, talked about immigration on Fox News. He used a Christian idea, saying you should love your family first, then your neighbors, then your community, then other people in your country, and after that, care about everyone else in the world.

Speaking in Italian to many people in St. Peter's Square, Leo shared a new idea for the Church and how people should get along: "We should be a church that works together to connect people and is always open to welcome everyone, like this open square."

Vance suggested that the Pope and the Vatican are more important than politics and social media. He said it is hard to make an organization that is 2,000 years old fit into American politics in 2025. He also said that it is better for everyone if the church helps people find their faith.

Steven Millies said that when Trump and Pope Leo became important at the same time, it showed how religion and culture met. He also said that religion and politics do not work well together because they have different goals.

Millies said in an email, "Francis and Cardinal Prevost were acting as bishops. They were teaching the Gospel and reminding us that it always helps the poor, the suffering, and those who are having problems. This is not how Trump usually acts as a president, a reality TV star, or a businessman."

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

Experts say that because Leo lived in Peru for many years, he has a wider understanding of people, power, religion, and politics.

Beyond clear personality differences with Trump, Leo is expected to use power in a different way – helping the people who need it most first. For instance, Trump stopped giving aid from America. Leo didn't talk about his American background in his first speech, and he didn't speak English. Some people who follow the Vatican closely said this shows his focus is on the whole world.

Even though Leo was the first pope born in the U.S., it's better to see him as the second pope from the Americas. This way of thinking is different from putting 'America first' and instead sees the whole region together, like Pope Francis did.

This shows a pope who leads globally by talking with others, not by being alone. He sees power as helping people, not controlling them. He said it's hard to imagine a bigger difference from the current government in the U.S.

Some American cardinals say Leo's style and ideas are not very American, and his American background probably didn't help him become pope. But Trump was important during the process.

Six American cardinals who had been in the election came to the stage at a press conference while music played loudly. They spoke, one after another, saying that Leo was not very typically American. One repeated a popular phrase that Leo was “the least American of the American” cardinals. Several said they thought Leo would help connect with the Trump government, like a bridge.

When people asked if the cardinals chose Leo because of Trump, several said no.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said, "I don't think the other cardinals would have seen him as a way to balance the power of one person."

"Of course, the cardinals knew about what had happened in the United States, things people had said, and political decisions that had been made," said Wilton Gregory, the former archbishop of Washington. But he added, the meeting's purpose was to choose "who among us" could make the faith stronger.

Millies said: “People shouldn’t be afraid of a pope from the U.S. Actually, it’s the opposite. Because he is different from most Americans, he hasn't been involved in our recent political issues and might seem safer. But he is still American and knows the good things about this country very well.”

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