Donald Trump Ranks Lower Internationally Than Russia’s Putin, Germany’s Merkel, And France’s Macron
It’s been almost two years since the world received the news that Donald Trump would be the 45th president of the U.S., and since then he has said and done many unexpected things that have raised eyebrows all over the globe. According to a survey conducted by Pew Global Research, many of those actions have put him in a very unfavorable light as far as other countries are concerned.
The image of the U.S. has supposedly plummeted since Trump took office, with a major lack of confidence in his leadership expressed across 24 of the 25 countries surveyed and ratings much lower than those during former President Barack Obama’s leadership.
It appears foreigners overwhelmingly believe the U.S. cares much less about the interest of other countries when making policy decisions, and simultaneously doing far less to help solve global problems. The American soft power also seems to be fading into the history books, with many countries believing that the U.S. has a waning respect for individual liberty.
Plenty of the concerns over the U.S. administration come from the country’s greatest allies in Europe. In France, just 9 percent of people have confidence in Trump, with 81 percent believing he doesn’t consider other countries’ interest when it comes to foreign policy. Only 10 percent of Germans have confidence in Trump, and the public belief that the U.S. respects personal freedom is down a shocking 35 percent from 2008.
Our new 25-nation survey finds President Trump’s international image remains poor, while ratings for the U.S. are much lower than during Barack Obama’s presidency. https://t.co/KFNggFl0YE
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) October 1, 2018
Closer to U.S. borders, Canada also has only 25 percent of the population viewing Trump in a favorable light, and 63 percent believe he is doing less than previous presidents when it comes to global issues. At least 82 percent believe he takes no interest in Canada’s concerns when making foreign policy. And on the southern border, Mexico has the lowest percentage favorability rating of the U.S. president of the countries surveyed, with just a lowly 6 percent expressing confidence in his leadership.
Only one country’s positive rating of Trump has actually improved in the past year. After moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel’s positive rating of the president is up to 69 percent from a previous 56 percent.
While the U.S. is still seen in a favorable light by just more than 50 percent of the population polled, over 70 percent have a lack of confidence in the U.S. president. Many also feel that the U.S. is of less importance in the global scheme of things than it was a decade ago. By contrast, most believe that China has become much more important.
Other world leaders such as Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s President Emmanuel Macron have experienced global increases in their positive ratings. According to Pew Global Research, 52 percent have confidence in Merkel’s leadership, and 46 percent in Macron’s leadership. Their popularity is also divided based on location, with southern and eastern Europe holding less favorable views of both.
The survey also indicated that China’s Xi Jinping leadership has a 34 percent confidence rating, and people’s confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership is at 30 percent. Despite these low numbers, both are still enjoying higher levels of confidence than the 27 percent Trump has going for him.
