On January 20th, we had the opportunity to celebrate the event “Global Public Image of the United States” with Dr. Richard Wike, principal investigator of Pew Research Center.
During the seminar, Dr. Wike presented the Global Public Opinion of the US study which centered on quantifying the international image of the US and world confidence in its president. In most of the countries studied, there is a general lack of trust towards the US president. and when compared to other current world leaders, President Trump is the leader that generates less confidence worldwide.
The global average has been 67% that show no confidence compared to 26% that do. This ratio is 78% and 21% respectively in Spain. According to the data shown, those who share political ideals more aligned to the right, tend to have a more favorable vision towards the president and his foreign policy -in Spain, support for Donald Trump has risen from 9% in 2018 to 31% in 2019 among the conservative public.
When the US places barriers or withdraws from international agreements, “it generates a lot of opposition in terms of global public opinion.” The “roll back” in international affairs has been one of the most pressing reasons for these bad grades, however, Dr. Wike recalled that the US was also heavily criticized when it interfered in the affairs of other countries, especially during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
According to this report, China and the US continue to be perceived as the most important economies worldwide. Above all, in western Europe, China is considered the most powerful country at an economic level. However, overwhelmingly, a large part of the world’s population prefers the US as a leading economic power against China and “wants the US to play a role it is not currently playing.”
Dr. Wike said that the US scientific and technological sector tends to generate a lot of admiration. American companies as well as the American culture (series, films, etc.) contribute to maintain a positive vision towards the US “even in periods of transatlantic tension.”
Pew Research Center has been investigating US views and confidence it its presidentes over the last 20 years. For this report, data from a survey conducted in 33 countries from May 18 to October 2, 2019, with a total of 36,923 respondents were used. For more information, we invite you to read the report through this link.
