The United States has become much less popular abroad since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new survey.
Pew Research Center surveyed people in 24 countries, including 10 in Europe, from late February through early April. It found that the share of respondents who viewed the U.S. favorably has dropped in most of them compared to the spring of 2024.
Respondents have little confidence in Trump as a world leader or in his ability to address global challenges, from wars in Ukraine and Gaza to climate change and U.S. immigration policies.
When Trump was first elected in 2016, the U.S.’s popularity worldwide similarly dropped, but the country recovered to previous levels during the Joe Biden presidency, according to data from Pew, a U.S.-based think tank that describes itself as non-partisan.
In Europe, an outlier when it comes to Trump is Hungary, the only country where the majority of respondents are confident in the American president.
The majority of respondents across the countries surveyed agreed that Trump is “dangerous” and “arrogant,” and few think he is honest. Most, however, also see him as a “strong leader.”
Along with Trump, the survey also measured global confidence in French President Emmanuel Macron, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and China’s Xi Jinping. Of the four, Macron has a solid lead, with a median of 46 percent expressing confidence in the French leader, compared to 34 percent for Trump, 25 percent for Xi and only 16 percent for Putin. At home, however, Macron is less popular — only 35 percent of French respondents expressed confidence in him.
