Gallup Polls find approval of US leadership under Trump hits historical low

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (APP):A Gallup poll finds a steep decline in approval of US leadership by other nations under President Donald Trump, who is focusing more on his policy of “America First” after taking the White House a year ago.
The Gallup Poll, which began tracking such rating worldwide in 2007, said on Thursday that other nations’ approval of US leadership under President Trump hit a “historical low” of 30 percent in 2017, reports online magazine The Politico.
The new ratings shows 18 point drop from a year earlier, when 48 percent approved of the national influence under President Barack Obama. The decline, according to researchers, could be largely attributed to the shift in US leadership.
President Trump is following a policy of “America First” and is opposed to several global trade pacts he says do not benefit the United States. President Trump last year also opposed the historical Paris Accord on climate, becoming the only country to reject it.
The Trump administration has also complained that the US is sharing the most burden in terms of contributions to international bodies such as the World Bank, and has asked other countries to contribute their fair share. The US has made a similar call to its NATO alliance.
“I think a lot of respondents when they’re being asked this, the first thing that’s top of mind is the leader of the country,” Gallup’s global managing partner, Jon Clifton, was quoted as saying by POLITICO.
According to the pool, approval for US leadership role dropped by 10 or more points in 65 of the 134 countries and areas surveyed. Regionally, the image of the U.S. was weaker in virtually every part of the world, registering record lows within multiple countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, the report said.
“Disapproval of U.S. leadership, meanwhile, soared, increasing by 15 points from 2016 to 2017 and notching the highest mark “43 percent” for any of the four major global powers surveyed over the past decade,” the report said.
“The study, which surveyed roughly 1,000 adults across more than 130 countries about their views on leadership in the U.S., Germany, China and Russia, showed faith in U.S. leadership fading while that of its global colleagues remained mostly steady,” the report said quoting the Poll figures.
“The biggest decline that happened across the world are with our allies,” Clifton said.
However, gains and victories against the Islamic State in Iraq led to the gains in rating of the US leadership under Trump in war-torn Iraq, where views improved by 9 points.
“And despite major overall losses in how global residents viewed the U.S. and its leaders, Gallup findings have shown that the U.S. continues to be the most coveted destination for those who say they want to relocate permanently.”
“The Gallup poll surveyed approximately 1,000 adults aged 15 and older via face-to-face and telephone interviews between March and November 2017. Participants were questioned about U.S., German and Russian leadership in 134 countries and areas. They were asked about Chinese leadership in 135. The study’s margin of sampling error ranges from 2 to 5.1 percentage points with a confidence level of 95 percent,” the report said.