New poll shows eroding global trust in Trump and America

Global confidence in US President Donald Trump’s leadership remains low around the world, while views of his country as a reliable partner continue to decline, a new survey from the Washington-based Pew Research Centre showed on Tuesday.
The survey of 42,151 adults across 36 countries was conducted between February and May 2026, a period marked by geopolitical competition with China and the US-Israeli military conflict with Iran that began in late February.
On average, just 23 per cent of adults said they had confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, while roughly two-thirds expressed little or no confidence.
Confidence dropped in 16 of the 24 nations with available trends, and no country showed any improvement.
Meanwhile, views of the US itself remained largely negative. Across the 36 countries, 37 per cent held a favourable opinion of the US, compared with 57 per cent who viewed it unfavourably.
Favourability fell in 15 of 24 countries with trend data, including double-digit drops in Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.

The survey also highlighted weakening perceptions of America’s role in the world. Just 35 per cent said the US contributed to peace and stability around the world, while only 32 per cent said it took the interests of other countries into account when making foreign policy.
Views of American democracy have worsened too. Thirty-nine per cent said the US government respected the personal freedoms of its citizens, while 56 per cent said it did not.
In 12 of 13 countries where the question was last asked in 2021, positive views declined in double digits.
Even among close allies, confidence in the US as a dependable partner has fallen sharply. In Canada, the share who saw the US as reliable dropped from 83 per cent in 2022 to 35 per cent in 2026.
Similar declines appeared in key Asia-Pacific partners, including Australia, Japan and Singapore. Australia recorded a fall of 30 points or more since 2023 in the share saying the US contributed to global peace and stability.
The Philippines stood out as a clear exception, with 77 per cent saying the US contributed to peace and stability and it was the nation where Trump received some of his strongest ratings.
Trump’s support is concentrated in a relatively small number of countries. He gets his highest confidence ratings in the Philippines, Israel, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.
In Nigeria, views were split sharply along religious lines, with 87 per cent of Christians expressing confidence compared with 33 per cent of Muslims.
At the other end, confidence in Trump fell to single digits in Turkey and among Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Attitudes towards Trump also differed by ideology. In 18 of 27 countries where participants were asked about their political views, those on the right were more likely than those on the left to express confidence in him. This included supporters of right-wing populist parties in Europe. Despite that, support has declined among many of these groups since last year.

The survey also showed widespread disapproval of Trump’s handling of major international issues. Seventy-four per cent disapproved of his approach on Iran.
Majorities also disapproved of his handling of tariffs, the Russia-Ukraine war, Gaza and other foreign policy challenges. Israel was a notable exception on Iran, where 73 per cent approved.
Trump got relatively better marks in some countries for humanitarian aid and immigration, though most respondents still disapproved overall.
When compared with previous presidents, Trump’s ratings in France, Germany, Spain and Britain remained low but were slightly higher than at the end of his first term.
They were similar to or slightly above those of George W. Bush at the end of his presidency, but well below the consistently higher ratings for Barack Obama.