Europeans Remain Skeptical of Trump Despite His Global Confidence in the U.S.
Since he got back to work, President Donald Trump has said many times that the United States is the most powerful and respected country in the world. He talks a lot about how he sees America as the most powerful, “hottest” country in the world when it comes to the economy, the military, and leadership on the world stage. But a recent survey demonstrates that not everyone agrees with this view, especially in Europe.
A large study by Politico of more than 10,500 adults in Germany, France, and the UK showed that most Europeans have a negative opinion of Trump. Interestingly, even people who support Europe’s right-wing populist parties, who frequently have similar nationalist goals, have different sentiments about the U.S. president.
For instance, people in France who support Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally had more bad things to say about Trump than good things to say about him. Thirty percent of people thought highly of him, whereas thirty-eight percent thought negatively. Supporters of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) were also virtually evenly split, with 35% saying they didn’t like it, 32% saying they did, and almost one-third not saying anything at all.
The Reform UK party in the UK, which Nigel Farage started in 2018 as the successor to the Brexit Party, was Trump’s largest supporter among European right-wing parties. Almost half of current Reform UK supporters (48%) said they liked Trump, while about 30% said they didn’t.
The majority of people in the three countries studied had negative views of Trump when looking at the overall general mood. Sixty-five percent of people in Germany said their view was bad or very negative. France was close behind with 64.8 percent, and in the U.K., 55.2 percent of people who took part likewise had a poor assessment of the president.
The poll also looked at what people thought about Trump’s specific policies, like his trade policy with other countries. Forty-two percent of National Rally supporters thought that U.S. policies helped America at the expense of other countries, while thirty-nine percent of AfD voters felt the same way. Reform UK voters seemed more hopeful, with 42.8 percent saying that Trump’s policies were good for both the US and other countries.
These results show that Trump’s confident view of America on the world stage is far different from how many Europeans, including those who agree with some of his ideas, see it. Even if he tries to show that he is a global leader, Europe is still wary. This shows how complicated international opinion is and how hard it is to get along with people across the Atlantic.
Sources:
- Politico poll data
- Official public statements by Donald Trump
- National Rally party public surveys
- Alternative for Germany (AfD) voter data
- Reform UK party supporter surveys
