U.S. rehabilitates its image abroad
America’s international standing has improved under President Biden after setbacks in the Trump era.
The United States’ image around the world has improved sharply since President Biden took office, according to new surveys conducted in 16 countries, including many long-standing U.S. allies.
The Pew Research Center surveys show majorities of the citizens across the countries — more than 6 in 10 in each — express confidence in Biden to “do the right thing” in world affairs.
Biden arrived in Britain on Wednesday on the first leg of his first overseas trip, hoping to reestablish America’s global standing and reinforce partnerships with key European allies.
Favorable ratings of the U.S. have started to rebound after declining considerably during President Trump’s four years in office, growing as much as 30 percentage points since last year in partner nations such as France and Germany. In 2020, positive views of the U.S. reached or neared low points in these two countries, as well as in the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.
In France, for example, 65% of poll respondents now have a favorable view of the U.S., up from 31% last year. No more than half in France rated the U.S. positively during Trump’s presidency, but at least 6 in 10 had during each of President Obama’s eight years in office.
And 74% of the public in France say they have confidence in Biden, a Democrat, to do the right thing regarding world affairs, compared with just 11% saying that for Trump, a Republican, last year. Across 12 countries surveyed in both 2020 and 2021, the gap in confidence in the two presidents is at least 40 percentage points — in Biden’s favor in all 12.
Biden seeks to reaffirm to allies his commitment to the U.S. role abroad, which stands in contrast to Trump’s “America first” approach. Biden will initially meet with Group of 7 leaders before continuing on to Brussels for a NATO summit, a meeting with the heads of the European Union and several face-toface meetings with other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.
Even as the United States’ global standing is rosier among the citizens of these nations around the world, Biden faces challenges as he looks to transition the U.S. out of the Trump era. The surveys, conducted from March 12 through May 26, find many nations skeptical of the U.S., both as a global partner and as a functioning democracy.
No more than 2 in 10 across the 16 countries say the U.S. is a “very” reliable partner, with majorities in most calling the U.S. “somewhat” reliable. In Canada, France, Spain and Greece, roughly a third say the U.S. is not a reliable global partner.
Germany is the only nation surveyed where a majority say ties with the U.S. will improve in the next few years. Across most other countries, more think relations will stay the same.
The state of U.S. democracy also earns mixed reviews. In Canada, 6 in 10 say the political system in the U.S. does not work well, as do about two-thirds of Australians and New Zealanders. About 4 in 10 in France and Spain say U.S. democracy is working poorly, compared with slim majorities who say it does work at least somewhat well. In Germany and the U.K., people are closely divided.