Confidence in President Donald Trump and views of the United States have fallen among the world’s major economies over the past year, while China and its leader, Xi Jinping, have risen slightly in popularity, according to Pew Research Center’s spring survey.
In nine of the 24 nations polled, excluding the United States, confidence in the Chinese president to do the right thing regarding world affairs was higher than confidence in Trump, according to Pew‘s report. The sentiment was found in around one-fourth of respondents in Canada and over one-third of those polled in Mexico.
Why It Matters
Global perceptions of the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies play a role in shaping alliances, trade, and international diplomacy. The findings in the Pew survey—released in June and July, respectively—highlight complex and increasingly polarized attitudes toward U.S. leadership under Trump and China under Xi.
Pew’s spring survey polled over 30,000 people from January 8 to April 26, before the United States joined Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear sites and while Trump’s policy of tariffs had largely yet to be finalized.
What To Know
Trump received mostly negative ratings in the survey of 24 economies but was more popularity than Xi in 13 nations, according to Newsweek‘s analysis of the results. In Greece and Kenya, confidence in Trump and Xi was tied at 37 and 64 percent, respectively.
In the United States, where there was no related data for Trump, 75 percent of Americans said they had no confidence in Xi to do the right thing regarding world affairs, compared to 13 percent who said the opposite.
More than half of respondents in 19 of the 24 countries said they lacked confidence in Trump’s leadership, the poll showed.
“Majorities in most countries also express little or no confidence in Trump’s ability to handle specific issues, including immigration, the Russia-Ukraine war, U.S.-China relations, global economic problems, conflicts between Israel and its neighbors, and climate change,” Pew said.
When asked about Trump’s personal characteristics, most described him as arrogant and dangerous, while relatively few saw him as honest, the center said. Nevertheless, majorities in 18 countries viewed Trump as a strong leader.
Respondents in Israel, Nigeria and Turkey had become more likely to give the U.S. a favorable rating since last year. Israel and Nigeria were two of the five nations—along with Hungary, India and Kenya—where at least half of adults expressed confidence in Trump’s handling of world affairs.
While views of China and Xi have improved slightly over the past year, many people lacked confidence in Xi to do the right thing on world affairs, Pew said.
Ratings for Xi were highest in Kenya and Nigeria, where about two-thirds of adults had confidence in him. Views were more mixed in South Africa, Pew said.
In Europe, Latin America and North America, views of Xi were more negative than positive. The same was true in Turkey and Israel.
People in four of the five Asia-Pacific countries surveyed mostly lacked confidence in Xi. In Japan, for instance, only 8 percent of those surveyed had confidence in him. But in Indonesia, 53 percent of people had confidence in Xi.
Overall, confidence in Xi was lower in high-income countries than in middle-income ones, Pew said. But few people in the countries surveyed had confidence in either Trump or Xi to do the right thing regarding world affairs.
What People Are Saying
Pew Research Center: “In many of the countries surveyed, views of the U.S. have turned significantly more negative over the past year, while views of China have turned slightly more positive.”
Steven Cheung, White House spokesman, told NPR on June 12: “President Trump is the president of the American people and his priority is to work on their behalf, nobody else’s.” He added that the “overwhelming majority of Americans support his America First agenda.”
What Happens Next
Future poll results will show the impact on Trump’s standing of the airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program and of his policy on tariffs. International opinion polls are unlikely to play a significant role in White House policy, which under Trump has made America itself the overwhelming priority.