US President Donald Trump's approval rating changed markedly from January to July among two Christian denominations, according to data from Marquette Law School. Thus, among Protestants the figure increased from 56% to 61%, while among Catholics it decreased from 54% to 45%. RTVI looked into what this is connected with and how their votes could affect the results of the midterm elections to Congress.
In 2025, Leo XIV became Pope, and Robert Prevost is the first American to hold this position. Even before his election, he actively criticized Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance. The pontiff's views differed from the Republican and his team regarding migration, both legal and illegal. The head of the Catholic Church condemned the suffering of migrants and deportees.
Then in February 2026, when the United States launched a military operation with Israel against Iran, Leo XIV condemned the war against the Islamic republic, calling Trump's threats “totally unacceptable.” The American president later warned that “an entire civilization would perish” if Tehran did not open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Trump also came under fire for publishing his profanity-laced ultimatum to Iran on Easter.
In addition, more than 200 military personnel complained about commanders who justified the war with biblical prophecies about the “end of times.” The conflict itself acquired a bright “religious overtones” for all its parties.
In April, Trump said the church appointed Leo as pope only because of his American heritage and that the pontiff was “a weakling on crime and terrible on foreign policy.” That same month, the Republican published and then deleted an image of himself in the image of Jesus Christ, which managed to cause a wave of discontent.
The Vatican later refused to canonize an American priest who survived the Gulag amid a row, but in May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican to “emphasize a shared commitment to promoting peace.”
The survey was conducted against the backdrop of a growing divide between Catholics and Protestants, who make up the bulk of Trump's electorate, Newsweek claims. Commenting on the situation, White House Press Assistant Taylor Rogers told the publication that “there has never been a better president for Christian Americans than Trump, and his achievements prove it.”
“President Trump ended the federal government's weaponization of people of faith, proudly defended and expanded our religious rights, pardoned anti-abortion activists, stopped the chemical exposure of our nation's children, and protected the rights of parents,” Rogers said.
She also accused previous Democratic administrations of “shamelessly using the full power of the federal government against people of faith,” subjecting children to “irreversible mutilation” and “trampling on the sacred rights of Christians” enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution regarding freedom of religion.
At the same time, representatives of the Mormons referred to its violation when the Pentagon officially excluded them from the codification of denominations tracked in the American army, even despite their belonging to Christians.
Catholic voters could play an important role in the results of the Republicans in the midterm elections in November, since they make up a significant part of the electorate and are less loyal to the president's party than Protestants, Newsweek clarifies. The stakes are high in the intense battle for control of Congress. Democrats need just a few extra seats to swing the House of Representatives in their favor.
