...
By John Feng and Matthew Tostevin
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Confidence in U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to handle world affairs, and in the United States overall under his leadership, has sunk in some key U.S. allies, but has risen in some other countries.
The figures are from a survey published in June by the Pew Research Center, which found that while favorability of the United States has increased under Trump in countries such as Israel, Nigeria, and Turkey, significant drops in favorability were reported in nations including Mexico, Sweden, Poland, and Canada.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment.
Read More on World
Why It Matters
The global perception of the United States and its president plays a role in shaping alliances, trade, and international diplomacy.
The Pew survey's findings highlight a complex and increasingly polarized world attitude toward U.S. leadership under Trump. Majorities in key U.S. allies such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, and Japan have relatively little confidence in Trump's handling of global affairs, although there are also contries such as India and Israel where confidence is strong.
The poll was conducted before the United States joined Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear sites.
What To Know
The data is from Pew's spring survey, which polled more than 28,000 adults across 24 countries, not including the United States itself.
Most respondents described Trump as "arrogant" and "dangerous," and only a minority believed he was honest, but majorities in 18 of those countries characterized him as a "strong leader."
The favorability of the United States dropped in 15 of the countries, most notably in Mexico, Sweden, Poland, and Canada, all seeing declines of more than 20 percentage points.
Meanwhile, U.S. favorability ratings increased somewhat in Israel, Nigeria, and Turkey and six countries recorded no significant change.
Majorities in 19 of the 24 countries expressed "little or no confidence" in Trump's ability to "do the right thing in world affairs." In Mexico, only 8 percent expressed confidence and in Canada just 22 percent. But it was a different picture in the major African economies of Nigeria and Kenya, which expressed confidence at levels of 79 percent and 74 percent, respectively.
In Israel, confidence stood at 69 percent and in India at 52 percent. Hungary was the only European country with a majority, 53 percent, expressing confidence.
People on the right see Trump more favorably than those on the left, the survey said.
What People Are Saying
Pew Research Center: "In most nations, views about Trump differ sharply along ideological and partisan lines. People who place themselves on the right and those who have favorable views of right-wing populist parties in Europe tend to view Trump more favorably."
Steven Cheung, White House spokesman, quoted by NPR on June 12: "President Trump is the president of the American people and his priority is to work on their behalf, nobody else's." He added that the "overwhelming majority of Americans support his America First agenda."
What Happens Next
Future poll results will show the impact on Trump's standing of the airstrikes launched against Iran's nuclear program. International opinion polls are unlikely to play a significant role in White House policy, which under Trump has made America itself the overwhelming priority.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines