Beyond the temporal and spiritual domains respectively, Donald Trump and Pope Leo XI presently stand as the most ascendant American figures on the global stage.

One newly elected American global figurehead's dictum: "Combat!" The other presented himself to the world through his initial public utterance as pontiff: "Tranquility."

The chasm separating President Donald Trump and the pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, is utterly profound, encompassing not merely their disparate political ideologies and personal demeanours, but extending fundamentally to their incongruous Weltanschauungen, reflections of their distinct leadership roles and spheres of influence.

However, Leo's landmark election last week to the helm of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, becoming the first pontiff of U.S. origin, signifies that the two most influential figures globally are now Americans, thereby prompting inquiries regarding American hegemony at a juncture when Trump's protectionist skirmishes and 'either/or' ultimatums have fundamentally destabilised eight decades of geopolitical equilibrium and engendered suspicion among erstwhile allies towards the United States.

The pervasive apprehension regarding the potential overweening influence of the United States within the geopolitical landscape is broadly posited as a salient factor underlying the conspicuous absence of an American pontiff throughout the Catholic Church's venerable, nearly two-and-a-half-century history, a pattern only recently disrupted by the elevation of the erstwhile Cardinal Robert F. Prevost of Chicago – now Pope Leo XIV – to the 267th papacy last week.

David Gibson, the director of Fordham University's Center on Religion and Culture, noted the profound irony inherent in Leo's election, positing that a significant segment of the global populace would likely perceive it as a beacon of optimism, envisaging an American statesman capable of articulating their interests rather than actively opposing them.

Pope Leo constitutes a distinct embodiment of the American archetype on the global stage.

The nascent election of the relatively obscure cardinal, initially met with a blend of astonishment and jubilation, swiftly segued into fervent discourse concerning the unprecedented scenario of two Americans ascending to the apex of the global ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Trump's aversion to ceding the spotlight or yielding primacy, palpable in his "America First" foreign policy doctrine, is evident in the electoral calculus of American Catholics, who opted for him over his Democratic counterpart, Kamala Harris.

In what appeared to be a calculated overture, Trump disseminated an AI-generated portrayal of himself in papal vestments during the period of mourning following the demise of Pope Francis on April 21st, an action that drew considerable opprobrium from certain segments of the Catholic and Italian populace. Trump, for his part, disavowed any personal involvement in the dissemination of the image, dismissing any resultant offense as indicative of an inability to appreciate humour and maintaining that the image was met with approbation within the Catholic community.

Notwithstanding, Trump extended felicitations to Leo, deeming it an exceptional prerogative that the nascent pontiff hailed from American lineage.

Pope Leo, concurrently, evinces a political acumen, characterised by a composed demeanour and a predilection for engaging in pre-conclave colloquies with his cardinal confreres in intimate coteries, as reported. Though a native Chicagoan, Leo — then Prevost — dedicated two decades to missionary work in Peru ere his 2023 appointment by Pope Francis to preside over the Vatican’s influential dicastery tasked with the worldwide vetting of bishops.

He would scarcely be the inaugural pontiff to immerse himself in global political affairs; indeed, Pope John Paul II is justifiably lauded for his instrumental role in the dismantling of communism. However, Leo assumes the papacy having already engaged in public censure of Vice President JD Vance, arguably the most prominent Catholic figure in American political discourse, via social media. Leo finds himself in considerable disagreement with the current administration on key policy fronts, including immigration – a cornerstone of Trump's political agenda – and environmental stewardship.

Mirroring the tactics of Trump, Leo has pivoted towards media engagement, specifically advocating on Monday in Vatican City for the liberation of incarcerated journalists and underscoring the imperative for "all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press," a stance juxtaposed sharply against Trump's persistently adversarial posture towards the journalistic profession, spanning his tenure in the White House and his interactions with the judiciary.

Trump and Pope Leo operate in qualitatively distinct domains as leaders.

In early February, Leo — at that juncture still Prevost — disseminated an article from a Catholic periodical bearing the headline, “JD Vance is misguided: Jesus does not enjoin us to hierarchise our affection for others.”

This transpires days subsequent to Vance—a proselyte to Catholicism—expounding upon immigration during a Fox News interview, invoking a Christian precept positing a hierarchy of affections: an initial devotion to one's kin, followed sequentially by solicitude for one's immediate neighbors, then one's community, subsequently one's compatriots, and only thereafter a prioritization of the global populace.

Addressing the throngs assembled within St. Peter’s Square, Leo, employing the Italian tongue, articulated a divergent paradigm for both ecclesiastical structure and interpersonal dynamics: "We are enjoined to constitute an ecclesial body committed to constructing conduits of understanding and extending unconditional welcome, mirroring the expansive embrace inherent in this very piazza."

Vance posited the pontificate transcends the ephemeral realms of politics and social media, asserting the inherent challenge in situating a bimillennial institution within the transient political landscape of contemporary America, and advocating for the church's unfettered pursuit of eschatological objectives as being conducive to collective well-being.

The synchronous ascent of figures such as Trump and Leo exemplifies a confluence where "the gospel meets the culture," an observation articulated by Steven Millies, director of The Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, who posited that the inherent misalignment of religion and politics stems from their disparate teleological orientations.

Millies asserted via electronic correspondence that the actions undertaken by both Francis and the then Cardinal Prevost constituted the quintessential duties of episcopacy – disseminating the tenets of the Gospel and reiterating its perpetual alignment with the marginalised, the burdened, and the distressed – a domain, he contended, wholly divergent from the purview of Trump as a president, reality television personality, or entrepreneur.

To what extent is Pope Leo’s cosmology fundamentally American in character?

According to scholarly sources, Leo's extensive period of residence in Peru, a nation in which he holds citizenship concurrently with his country of origin, is posited as having conferred upon him an amplified perspective on the multifaceted interplay of humanity and power, alongside the intricate dynamics between religion and politics.

Beyond the conspicuous divergence in character from Trump, Leo is anticipated to exercise authority with a distinct methodology — prioritising succour for the most indigent, for instance, in stark contrast to Trump's severance of American subventions. Leo conspicuously omitted any reference to his American lineage in his inaugural address, nor did he articulate in English — an indication, posited by some observers of the Vatican, of his transcendental allegiances.

“While demonstrably factual that Leo holds the distinction of being the inaugural US-born pontiff, it is arguably more apposite to conceptualise him as the second pope originating from the Americas, a framing that actively contests parochial 'America first' perspectives and instead envisages the region with a more comprehensive, holistic purview, echoing the precedent set by Pope Francis in situating its gravitational centre within the global south,” opined Raul Zegarra, an assistant professor of Roman Catholic theological studies at Harvard Divinity School.

This confluence of factors illuminates a pontiff who apprehends global stewardship through parley rather than insularity; one who perceives power not as dominion but as ministration," he asserted. "It is nigh on impossible to conceive of a more trenchant antithesis to the incumbent U.S. administration."

To hear some American cardinals relate it, Leo is, in point of fact, not particularly American in either his mien or his Weltanschauung, and his US patrimony played a negligible role, if any, in his elevation to the papacy; yet, Trump cast a pall over the proceedings.

A sextet of American cardinals who had partaken in the conclave ascended the platform at a press conference, accompanied by the cacophonous strains of “Born in the USA” and “American Pie” emanating from loudspeakers; thereupon, each in succession sought to attenuate Leo’s American antecedents, one notably citing the circulating aphorism that Leo is “the least American of the American” cardinals, whilst several others articulated their anticipation of Leo’s role as a “bridge-builder” — etymologically, a “pontiff” — in dealings with the Trump administration.

Probed on whether the cardinals' election of Leo was intended to counterbalance Trump, a consensus amongst them indicated otherwise.

“I do not surmise, in the slightest, that my confrere cardinals would have perceived him as a countervailing force against any individual,” averred Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.

“Evidently, the cardinals were acutely cognizant of events unfolding within the United States, pronouncements delivered, and political stratagems deployed,” articulated Wilton Gregory, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington. Nonetheless, he posited, the conclave’s telos was the selection of “who among our number” possessed the capacity to fortify religious conviction.

"Millies posited: 'It is not so much that the global community ought to apprehend a pontiff of United States provenance. Paradoxically, quite the contrary obtains: As 'the quintessential non-American among his compatriots,' he remains unblemished by our recent political vicissitudes and may thus appear more innocuous, even whilst, concurrently, he is a scion of this nation intimately conversant with its nobler aspirations.'"

This dispatch was substantively augmented by the insightful contributions of Darlene Superville, a seasoned Associated Press correspondent operating out of Washington.