U.S. Handling of Affairs Diminishes its Global Perception

  According to a recent survey administered by the Pew Research Poll Center, global perception of the United States has fallen to its lowest point in over two decades. These surveys reflect the opinions of 13 countries and their views on the United States. 

  Across the survey data, only 13 percent of countries are confident in President Donald Trump’s abilities to lead the U.S. Additionally, positive views of the U.S. have fallen to a median of 34 percent. 84 percent of those surveyed reported that they found US handling of the coronavirus of poor quality, a large majority.

  The only country that had a majority of its population favor the United States was South Korea. On the other hand, Belgium was the most skeptical, having only nine percent of its population favor the U.S. president.

  The highest percentage of people who have trust in President Trump were 25 percent of those surveyed in Japan. Meanwhile, only 1 in five Britons had confidence in the U.S. President.

  The Pew Global Attitudes surveyed 13,273 people and was conducted from June to August. The countries they surveyed were Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

  This global perception decline can be interpreted as a direct result of US handling of the coronavirus, as it reports over six million dead and over 200,000 deaths. The country has been under severe scrutiny as it is torn apart by the politics over the issue of staying closed or reopening for business, among other conflicts.

  The Black Lives Matter movement, fueled by the death of George Floyd, has not only shaken the nation, but also the world. Many European countries protested the inequality that is perceived in the United States, indicating a lack of trust and confidence.

  According to a director of the Pew survey, Dr. Richard Wike, “What we’ve seen in our polling over the past few years is that many people around the world see the U.S. stepping away from a leadership position in world affairs, and that’s had a negative impact on what they think of the country.” 

  The nation has appeared to have shown signs of weakness and instability to the nations of the world, diminishing their confidence in the U.S.

  In spite of these negative views of the nation, Dr. Wike states that “People haven’t necessarily given up on the U.S.. They still want the U.S. to play a leadership role on the international stage.” 

  The world has not given up on the U.S., necessarily, it simply expects more from a major global power. 

  Other nations seem to believe if a country with the size and power of the U.S. is unable to handle its own national affairs, they cannot expect it to properly take care of international ones.