Globally, opinions of Trump leadership, U.S. image drop, according to new survey
Since taking office in January, President Trump's actions and policies have had an impact on opinions of the United States around the world. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center among 37 countries, a median of just 22 percent are confident that Mr. Trump will do the right thing regarding international affairs.
The international community had greater trust in his predecessor -- 64 percent expressed confidence in former President Barack Obama's global diplomacy capabilities.
Of the nations polled, trust in Mr. Trump's leadership has declined sharply among allied nations in particular. The survey shows that Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands have lost the most confidence of any countries in the president's ability to do the right thing when it comes to world affairs. The only two countries to gain confidence in this area were Russia and Israel.
Not only has the world stage become increasingly critical of Mr. Trump himself, but its opinion of the United States as a whole has shifted as well. At the end of the Obama era, 64 percent held a positive view of the United States. After the early days of Mr. Trump's time in office, this number has dipped to just 49 percent favorability.
Although there is a clear shift in international opinion, the majority of the 37 countries surveyed do not believe that the relationship between their own country and the United States will change during the Trump presidency.
The survey also focused on five key policy promises made by Mr. Trump during his campaign for the White House: pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, a travel ban on people immigrating from majority-Muslim nations, removing the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, withdrawing support from major trade agreements and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Of these policy proposals, the border wall received the least approval among the countries surveyed-- an overwhelming 76 percent disapprove of the physical barrier between the United States and Mexico.
Those surveyed also had a strong response to his personality. The most popular character trait used to describe Mr. Trump personally was "arrogant," with 75 percent choosing this word to label him. The second most popular characteristic was "intolerant" at 65 percent. The least selected characteristic for the president was "caring about ordinary people," which came in at 23 percent.
