Trump Trusted Less Than Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Bombshell Global Poll of 36 Nations

International public opinion of US President Donald Trump has turned deeply critical, according to fresh data from the Pew Research Center, which highlights a sharp decline in the number of people who view America as a dependable ally.

Roughly two-thirds of the more than 42,000 participants across 36 countries expressed a lack of confidence in Trump's ability to steer global politics.

The fieldwork took place between 8 February and 13 May, a period heavily defined by the joint US-Israeli military campaign in Iran. That confrontation has drawn widespread condemnation while throwing global economic stability into turmoil.

Global Confidence in Trump Slumps

The study also evaluated public sentiment towards Trump's most heavily debated global policies over the past 18 months. These included sweeping cuts to US overseas aid, the introduction of import tariffs, and severe border crackdowns coupled with deportations.

The evaluation also covered the apprehension of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the administration's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the president's threats to acquire Greenland, and the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

'We actually saw some big shifts last year after Trump took office, but what we have in this year's data is that there's even further decline in most countries that we also surveyed last year,' explained Richard Wike, who leads global attitudes research at Pew.

Pew found that trust in Trump had plummeted compared with the previous year across 16 of the 24 nations surveyed in both years, with not a single country recording an upward trend in favourable views of the president. Just 23 per cent of respondents said they trust Trump to make the right decisions on international matters.

World Leaders Outperform Trump

International respondents expressed higher levels of trust in French President Emmanuel Macron, at 43 per cent, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at 35 per cent, Chinese President Xi Jinping, at 34 per cent, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, at 31 per cent. Trump only managed to outperform Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who received the lowest confidence rating at just 18 per cent.

The research did not include Russia or China. According to Wike, legislative crackdowns in those countries have made it extremely difficult for foreign non-profit organisations to operate, while local populations are often reluctant to share their candid views.

Lowest Ratings in Muslim-Majority Regions

Some of the lowest scores emerged from predominantly Muslim populations, Pew noted, including citizens in Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey, as well as Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The researchers also stated that they were unable to collect data from Palestinians residing in the Gaza Strip.

Trump recorded his lowest confidence ratings among Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, at 4 per cent, and in Turkey, at 6 per cent. In Turkey, a key NATO ally, just 13 per cent of respondents held a favourable view of the US, while only 9 per cent of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem shared a positive opinion of America.

World Cup Offers a Different Picture

The publication of the study coincides with the US hosting the ongoing World Cup tournament, where several overseas visitors have shared glowing reviews of their trips and expressed surprise at the warm reception they received in major American cities.

Although the precise number of overseas visitors remains unclear, early data suggests the final figure will fall short of the projections made by the Trump administration and FIFA, which anticipated between six million and 10 million spectators.

Although Pew did not ask participants about their views on the US hosting the World Cup, Wike noted that other research suggests people with closer ties to America — such as relatives, friends or previous travel experience there — tend to hold more favourable opinions.

'People distinguish between how they feel about a country's culture, quite often, versus how they feel about its policies and things like that,' he observed. 'It's certainly possible that in different ways it [the World Cup] could have a positive impact on how people see the U.S.'

America's Reliability Takes a Hit

Wike said one of the findings that stood out most to him was the scale of the 'huge shifts' in perceptions of US reliability. Unfavourable views of America rose by as much as 20 percentage points in a number of countries compared with the 2022 survey.

Sweden illustrates the changing mood. In 2022, 83 per cent viewed the US as dependable. Today, that figure stands at just 31 per cent. Across France, Germany, Spain and the UK, ratings now resemble those recorded during the final years of George W. Bush's presidency.

There are some exceptions. Hungary, the Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Colombia continue to hold majority positive views of the US. In Israel, 81 per cent view the US favourably, while 66 per cent express confidence in Trump. Although Europe's populist right has historically been supportive of Trump, that backing is beginning to weaken, particularly among Hungary's Fidesz party and right-wing groups in Italy.