America’s image has worsened under Donald Trump: Survey
Washington, Oct. 2: The image of the United States has deteriorated further among its traditional allies after a year in which President Donald Trump ratcheted up his verbal attacks on countries like Canada and Germany, a leading survey showed.
The survey of 25 nations by the Pew Research Center also showed that respondents from across the globe have less confidence in Mr Trump’s ability to lead than they do in Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.
Since taking office in January 2017, Mr Trump has pulled the United States out of international agreements like the Paris climate accord and Iran nuclear deal, cozied up to authoritarian leaders like Mr Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jongun, and criticised his neighbours and Nato allies.
In June, after a G7 summit in Canada, Mr Trump refused to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, deriding his host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as “very dishonest and weak”. He has repeatedly attacked Germany for its trade surplus, low defence spending and reliance on Russian gas.
Last week, when giving a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Trump drew laughter from world leaders when he claimed to have achieved more in his two years in the White House than almost any other US administration in history.
The survey showed that America’s image, which took a big hit in 2017, Mr Trump’s first year in office, continued to deteriorate in many countries in 2018, particularly in Europe.
Just 30 per cent of Germans have a favourable view of the United States, down five points from last year and the lowest score in the entire survey after Russia, on 26 per cent.