According to the text, Trump and Pope Leo are now the most powerful Americans in the world, working in different areas and jobs.

An American leader's motto was "Fight!", while a new pope's first public word was "Peace."

The differences between President Donald Trump and Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV are very clear in politics, personality, and how they see the world. They have different jobs and work in different areas.

Since Leo, the first American pope, was recently elected to lead 1.4 billion Catholics, the two most powerful people globally are now American. This situation leads to questions about American influence, especially as Trump's trade disputes and threats have disrupted the global order that has existed for 80 years and caused allies to trust the US less.

For about 250 years, many people thought the Catholic Church didn't choose an American as Pope. This was because they worried the United States had too much power in the world. But last week, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost from Chicago was chosen to be Pope Leo XIV.

David Gibson, a director at Fordham University, said that many people in other countries will see Leo's election as a sign of hope. They think he will speak for them instead of being against them.

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

People were first surprised and happy about the election of the lesser-known cardinal, but soon they started discussing strongly how two Americans could be at the very top of the world’s power structure.

Trump likes to be the most important person, which is clear from his "America First" foreign policy. American Catholics voted for Trump instead of Kamala Harris.

Trump shared an AI picture of himself as a pope when people were sad about Pope Francis's death. Some Catholics and Italians didn't like it. Trump said he didn't post the picture and that people who were upset couldn't understand a joke. He also claimed that Catholics thought it was funny.

However, Trump said he hoped Leo would do well and felt it was a "great honor" that the new pope was American.

Meanwhile, Pope Leo also acts like a politician in some ways. He is calm and talks to other cardinals in small groups before the election, people said. He was born in Chicago, but Leo, whose name was Prevost at that time, worked as a missionary in Peru for 20 years. Then, in 2023, Pope Francis chose him to lead the Vatican's important office that checks bishops around 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 he had already disagreed with Vice President JD Vance, who is a very important Catholic politician in America, on social media. Leo has different opinions from the current government on topics like immigration, which is a big issue for Trump, and the environment.

Like Trump, Leo is now focusing on the media. On Monday in Vatican City, he requested that journalists who are in prison be set free. He also stated that "we all need to protect the important gift of free speech and the press." However, Trump has been aggressive with journalists, both in the White House and in the courts.

Trump and Pope Leo have very different approaches to leadership.

In early February, Leo, whose last name was still Prevost, shared an article from a Catholic magazine. The headline said, “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 mentioned a Christian idea that you should love your family first, then your neighbors, then your community, and then people in your country, before thinking about people in other parts of the world.

Speaking in Italian to a large crowd in St. Peter’s Square, Leo shared his idea for the Church and how people should relate to each other: “We should be a church that works together to build connections and stay open to everyone, like this square, which welcomes people.”

Vance said the Pope's role is more important than politics and social media. He explained that it's hard to understand a 2,000-year-old organization when thinking about American politics in 2025. He added that it's better for everyone if the church focuses on helping people with their spiritual lives.

Steven Millies, who works at The Bernardin Center in Chicago, said that when Trump and Leo became popular at the same time, it showed how religion and culture come together. He also said that religion and politics don't work well together because they have different goals.

Millies wrote in an email that Francis and Cardinal Prevost were acting as bishops. They were teaching the Gospel and reminding people that it always supports the poor, the suffering, and those in need. He said 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 might have a wider understanding of people, power, religion, and politics.

Apart from his clear personality differences with Trump, Leo is expected to use his power differently. He will help the neediest people first, unlike Trump who stopped American aid. In his first speech, Leo did not mention his American background or speak in English. Some experts on the Vatican said this showed his focus on the world.

Although Leo was the first pope born in the US, it is better to think of him as the second pope from the Americas. This idea questions the 'America first' way of thinking and sees the whole region as one, just like Pope Francis did first. This highlights the importance of the global south.

This shows a pope who leads the world 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 clearer difference from the current U.S. government.

Some American cardinals say that Leo's style and ideas are not very American, and his American background did not help much in him becoming pope. But Trump was clearly present during the event.

Six American cardinals who were in the meeting came to a press conference as American songs played loudly. One by one, they made Leo's American background seem less important. One person repeated a popular saying that Leo was 'the least American of the American' cardinals. Several said they thought Leo would be a 'bridge-builder' with the Trump government, which is like the meaning of the Latin word 'pontiff'.

When asked if the cardinals elected Leo to balance out Trump, several said no.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said he didn't think his fellow cardinals considered him a way to balance the power of any one person.

"Clearly, the cardinals knew about events and actions that happened in the United States," said Wilton Gregory, a former archbishop of Washington. But he added that the group's goal was to choose someone who could make the faith stronger.

Millies said: "People shouldn't be afraid of a pope from the U.S. In fact, it's the opposite. Because he is 'the least American of the Americans,' he hasn't been affected by our recent politics. He might seem safer, even though he is an American who knows the good things about this country very well."

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