Trump Gets Negative Reviews Internationally as Fewer Say U.S. Is a Reliable Partner

36-country survey finds declining ratings for the U.S. amid rising concerns about its foreign policy and the health of its democracy

A new Pew Research Center survey finds negative – and often overwhelmingly negative – views of U.S. President Donald Trump in regions around the globe.

Across 36 nations polled, a median of 23% of adults express confidence in his leadership of world affairs. In many countries, confidence in Trump has slipped since last year.

Overall ratings for the United States are also largely negative. Favorable views of the country have declined in many places over the past year, including double-digit drops in Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.

There are seven nations in the study where a majority of adults rate the U.S. positively. The highest rating (81% favorable) comes from Israel. Some of the lowest ratings are from predominantly Muslim publics, such as Malaysians, Pakistanis, Turks, and Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (We were unable to survey in Gaza.)

Trump gets mostly poor marks for his handling of key foreign policy issues, including tariffs, Gaza, Iran, Greenland and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The survey reveals striking changes over time in how people perceive the U.S. and its role in world affairs.

The share of the public who considers the U.S. a reliable partner has declined steeply in many countries since we last asked this question in 2022, during Joe Biden’s presidency.

This downward turn in opinion has taken place in several nations with which the U.S. has longstanding economic and security ties. For example, in Canada, 83% described the U.S. as a reliable partner in 2022, compared with 35% today. Large declines have also been measured in some of America’s key Asia-Pacific partners.

For more views of U.S. reliability over time, refer to Appendix A.

A 36-country median of 35% say the U.S. contributes to peace and stability around the world. The share of people who hold this view is down significantly in many countries since 2023.

Similarly, the share who think the U.S. takes into account the interests of other countries when making foreign policy decisions has declined in most nations where trends from 2023 are available.

For instance, 60% of Germans three years ago said the U.S. considers other countries’ interests, but that share has dropped to 23% today. German public opinion is now similar to or more negative than what was measured during George W. Bush’s presidency, when many people in Europe and elsewhere strongly opposed the war in Iraq and other major elements of U.S. foreign policy. In surveys conducted from 2002 to 2007, between 27% and 53% of Germans said the U.S. considers the interests of countries like theirs when making foreign policy.

Our polling over the past few years has found widespread concerns about the health of American democracy in many places, and the new survey shows that large shares of people around the world no longer believe the U.S. respects individual liberty.

A 36-country median of 39% say the U.S. government respects the personal freedoms of its people, while 56% say it does not.

In 12 of the 13 countries where we last asked about this in 2021, during the Biden administration, there have been double-digit declines in the shares who say the U.S. respects personal freedoms.

Over a longer span, some of these shares have fallen even farther in several of these nations.

A 2013 Center survey represented a high point for this measure in several nations we have polled regularly. That year, as Barack Obama began his second term as president, three-quarters or more in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, the Philippines, South Korea and the United Kingdom said the U.S. respected personal freedoms.

However, in 2014, this view became less common in some countries after disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed the government’s vast capacity to intercept communications around the world.

This year, the share of the public saying the U.S. respects personal freedoms is the lowest it’s been in several countries we have surveyed for years, including Australia, Brazil, Chile, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea and Sweden.

For more views of the U.S. government’s respect for personal freedoms over time, refer to Appendix A.

For this report, we surveyed 42,151 people in 36 countries from Feb. 8 to May 13, 2026.

Where does Trump get his highest and lowest ratings?

Trump gets his best ratings in the Philippines, Israel, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.

In Israel, views of Trump are considerably more positive among Jews (79% have confidence in him) than among Arabs (13%).

And in Nigeria, Trump receives more positive ratings among Christians (87%) than Muslims (33%). Since last year, confidence in him has risen by 6 percentage points among Christians but dropped by 41 points among Muslims.

There are 26 places surveyed in which 30% of the public or less expresses confidence in the U.S. president. In Turkey, as well as in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, that share is in the single digits.

Confidence in Trump has declined since last year in 16 of 24 nations where trend data is available. There is no country surveyed in which attitudes toward him have become more positive.

In 18 of 27 countries where we measure political ideology, people on the right are more likely than those on the left to express confidence in Trump. He receives particularly positive marks from Europeans with favorable views of right-wing populist parties. Still, even among supporters of some of these parties, Trump’s ratings have worsened since last year.

How do ratings of Trump compare with previous presidents?

Pew Research Center has measured international attitudes toward U.S. presidents for over two decades, charting large shifts in public opinion in many regions. Findings from France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. highlight some long-term trends in views of recent presidents.

The latest ratings for Trump in these four nations, while low, tend to be slightly higher than at the end of his first term. They’re about equal to or somewhat higher than ratings for Bush at the end of his second term.

Obama consistently received much higher ratings in these Western European countries during his two terms in the White House. Views of Biden were also relatively positive, although attitudes toward Biden turned more negative over the course of his presidency.

For more on confidence in Trump and previous U.S. presidents over time, refer to our detailed data sheet.

Do people approve of how Trump is handling major international issues?
We asked respondents whether they approve or disapprove of how Trump is dealing with eight key global issues. At least half of adults in most countries disapprove of how he is handling each of these.

In every nation surveyed, most or all interviews took place after the U.S. and Israel launched the military conflict with Iran on Feb. 28, 2026.

Related: Israelis, Palestinians, Americans See War in Iran Differently

Overall, a median of 74% of adults across 36 nations disapprove of how Trump is dealing with Iran. Israel is the only country where a clear majority (73%) approve, though 51% also express this view in Kenya and Nigeria.

Relatively few approve in Pakistan (21%) and Turkey (5%), which share a border with Iran. Similarly, just 5% of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem approve.

To explore how the war may have affected overall views of the U.S., we conducted a separate analysis using a statistical technique called regression. The results suggest that as the war – and our survey fieldwork – progressed, attitudes toward the U.S. became more negative in some countries.

For more, read: “What happens when war breaks out in the middle of a survey?”

Trump gets his highest ratings on international humanitarian aid, though most disapprove of how he’s handling this issue. (We did not ask about knowledge of the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid or knowledge of its other policies.) Majorities approve of how he has dealt with humanitarian aid in five of the middle-income nations (as defined by World Bank lending groups) surveyed: the Philippines (66%), Kenya (65%), Sri Lanka (57%), Colombia (56%) and Peru (55%).

Trump gets his second-highest ratings on immigration. His immigration policies tend to be more popular among people on the ideological right, and especially Europeans who support right-wing populist parties.

A median of just 22% approve of the way Trump has dealt with Venezuela. Still, views are slightly more positive in some Latin American nations, including Venezuela’s neighbor Colombia (46%).

Trump receives low marks in Europe for his handling of both Greenland and the Russia-Ukraine war. For more, read: “European views of Trump and the U.S. are especially negative.”

There is no country in which a majority approves of how Trump is dealing with the conflict in Gaza. (At the time of our survey, a fragile ceasefire existed between Israel and Hamas.) Very few Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem approve (3%), while Israelis are divided: 48% approve and 48% disapprove, with Israeli Jews (57% approve) and Israeli Arabs (14%) expressing very different views.

The Trump administration’s tariff policies are widely unpopular. Kenya is the only country surveyed in which a majority (55%) approve of how Trump is handling this issue. Attitudes are especially negative in many nations with which the U.S. has major trade relationships, including the U.K. (27% approve), India (18%), Canada (17%), Japan (15%), South Korea (14%), Mexico (11%) and Germany (8%).

For more views of Trump’s foreign policy actions, refer to Appendix A.

Do people around the world view the U.S. favorably or unfavorably?
Across the 36 countries surveyed, a median of 37% of adults express a favorable view of the U.S., while 57% have an unfavorable view.

In Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, opinions are largely negative: Seven-in-ten or more in many of these nations rate the U.S. unfavorably.

The U.S. receives its highest rating in Israel, at 81% favorable, while roughly eight-in-ten in Turkey and in the West Bank and East Jerusalem see the U.S. negatively.

In past surveys, the U.S. has received largely favorable ratings in the African nations surveyed. This year, views are relatively more positive than not in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. Still, favorable ratings are down 15 points since last year in Nigeria, as well as in South Africa.

Latin Americans express a range of opinions. Most Colombians rate the U.S. positively, while views are more divided in Peru, Brazil and Argentina. Around half or more Mexicans and Chileans have an unfavorable opinion.

Favorable views have declined significantly in 15 of 24 nations where trends from last year are available. Mexico is the only country where views improved, from 29% to 40% favorable.

In many of the countries we have surveyed since 2002 – including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea and the U.K. – positive ratings are at or near the lowest they’ve been.

And although overall ratings for the U.S. are positive in Israel and Nigeria, they are at historic lows in our polling among some subgroups in both countries. Only 19% of Arab Israelis express a favorable view of the U.S., down from 29% last year and the lowest share we’ve measured in any of our Israel surveys. In contrast, 96% of Jewish Israelis have a favorable opinion of the U.S.

Similarly, a record-low 36% of Nigerian Muslims rate the U.S. favorably, down drastically from 73% last year. Roughly eight-in-ten Nigerian Christians (82%) express a favorable view.

For more on views of the U.S. over time, refer to our detailed data sheet.

Does the U.S. contribute to peace and stability?

A median of 35% of adults across the 36 nations polled think the U.S. contributes a great deal or a fair amount to peace and stability around the world.

However, opinions vary widely. Around seven-in-ten or more in the Philippines (77%), Kenya (74%) and Israel (73%) say the U.S. contributes to global stability, while one-in-five or fewer share this view in Argentina (20%), the Netherlands (19%), the West Bank and East Jerusalem (14%) and Turkey (10%).

People have become much less likely to believe the U.S. adds to global peace and security since we last asked this question in 2023, during the Biden administration. This share of the public has shrunk in 19 of 22 countries where trend data is available. In Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Canada and Australia, it’s fallen by 30 points or more.

For more views of the U.S. contributing to peace and stability over time, refer to Appendix A.

Does the U.S. consider other countries’ interests?

Across the 36 nations polled, a median of 32% of adults think the U.S. takes into account the interests of countries like theirs a great deal or a fair amount in its foreign policy decisions.

Majorities hold this view in the Philippines (74%), Kenya (68%), Israel (68%), Nigeria (64%) and Sri Lanka (62%).

Few in the NATO member states surveyed say the U.S. considers their interests. Hungarians (35%) are the most likely of these allies to say it takes other nations’ interests into account, followed by the U.K. (26%). Only 10% in France and 8% in Sweden express this opinion.

For more, read: “European views of Trump and the U.S. are especially negative.”

This view has become less common in 19 of 22 countries where trend data from 2023 is available.

In many nations where we have been asking this question over many years, the share of the public who think the U.S. considers other countries’ interests is at or near an all-time low, while the share who say it does not is at or near an all-time high. This is the case in Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, South Africa and the U.K.