Trump's approval rating among Catholic voters dropped to 48% in a poll conducted late March, according to reporting timed to Pope Leo's Africa tour where he condemned 'tyrants' spending billions on war—a criticism widely interpreted as directed at the Trump administration. The tensions between the president and the pontiff reflect a broader clash over theology and the use of religion in politics, with Vice President Vance and Catholic bishops now publicly defending the Pope against Trump's attacks. The decline in Catholic support matters because this bloc has historically been politically divided but influential in swing states, particularly in the Midwest.