Gallup surveyed in 134 countries in 2017, and on January 18 reported that: Median approval of U.S. leadership across the 134 countries surveyed in 2017 reached 30%, the lowest point since Gallup began tracking this measure annually in 2007. Disapproval of U.S. leadership increased almost as much as approval declined. The 43% median disapproval, up 15 points from the previous year, was a new record as well, not only for the U.S. but for any other major global power [there were three others—Germany, Russia, and China—that] Gallup asked [this question] about in the past decade.
The map showing country-by-country results indicates declining approval of U.S. leadership in all countries in the Western Hemisphere, except no change in Jamaica and Trinidad-&-Tobago. There were 9% decline of approval of America’s leadership in Venezuela, and declines ranging from 14% to 40% in all other countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. The biggest decline in the Hemisphere, 40%, occurred in Canada.
In Europe, there were declines in all countries except improvements (increased approval) in Macedonia 15%, Belarus 11%, Poland 8%, Slovakia and Montenegro 7%, Russia 6%, and Ukraine 4%. The biggest change was the 42% decline in approval of U.S. leadership in Norway, but close behind that was the 38% decline in Netherlands. Norway, Canada and Netherlands exhibited the biggest of all the declines in approval of U.S. leadership, among all the 134 nations surveyed.
In Asia (including some Middle Eastern countries), there were increases only in Israel 14%, Iraq 9%, Lebanon and Azerbaijan 7%, Nepal 6%, Kazakhstan 5%, Mongolia 4%, Uzbekistan 2%, and Tajikistan and Palestine 1%.
Africans seem to be the most pleased of all peoples with the change from Obama to Trump. There were approval-increases by 17% in Liberia, 8% in Mauritius and Benin, 7% in Ethiopia, 6% in Sierra Leone, 5% in Ghana, 4% in Chad and Algeria, 2% in South Sudan, and 1% in Nigeria and Zambia and Morocco. The biggest decline in approval was 17% in Tanzania. Egypt and Saudi Arabia weren’t included among the 134 sampled countries.
Here were the results Gallup reported regarding the leadership in the three other countries: China, Russia, and Germany.
In 2017, globally among the 134 countries, 41% approved of the leadership in Germany. 31% approved of the leadership in China. 30% approved of the leadership in U.S., and 27% approved of the leadership in Russia. The figure regarding Russia had reached its all-time low of 22% in 2014, due to U.S. propaganda for U.S. President Barack Obama’s coup in Ukraine ending democracy there in February 2014 (it was portrayed instead as a ‘revolution’ in Ukraine, which ‘had a mostly democratic and liberal character’), and propaganda against Russia’s response to that U.S. coup, which coup had actually instituted fascism and even outright nazism in Ukraine, though Ukraine’s new leaders were lionized by the U.S. Congress as heros of democracy. Even outright nazis from the new government were honored by Western legislatures. During that same year, 2014, when America pulled off its bloody coup in Ukraine, America’s leadership was globally approved by 45%. In that year, Germany’s leadership was approved by 41%. China’s leadership was approved by 29%. And, as mentioned, Russia’s approval was 22%—half of America’s. Now that Trump has become the U.S. President, that U.S./Russia ratio has declined from 45%/22% in 2014, to 30%/27%—from around two-to-one in America’s favor, to near equality between the two nations’ leaderships’ global approval. Whereas Obama had fooled the world to think that he’s a decent person, Trump doesn’t seem even to care much about what the world-at-large thinks of him.
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910–2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
