In Europe and Asia, the U.S. Image Looks Better Under Obama
Republican front-runner Donald Trump's slogan might be "Make America Great Again," but according to public opinion in a big slice of the world, the United States is in pretty good shape already.
The U.S. global image is stronger in parts of Europe, Asia and North America than it was during the presidency of George W. Bush, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center. The survey, conducted in 10 European countries, four major Asia-Pacific countries, Canada and the United States, found that half or more of those polled in every nation have a favorable opinion of the U.S. The exception was Greece, where only 38 percent rated the U.S. positively.
"During the Bush era, opposition to U.S. foreign policy and rising anti-Americanism were widespread in many regions of the world, but Obama's election in November 2008 led to a significant improvement in America's global image," the report says.
Trump and other U.S. politicians often talk about the weakened U.S. economy. But in many parts of the world, perceptions of U.S. economic power are becoming more positive.
The survey found majorities or pluralities in seven of 16 countries believe the U.S. is the world's top global economic power; only the Australians believe it's China.
U.S. public opinion has also shifted on the issue, with 54 percent of Americans naming the U.S. as the leading economy, up from 40 percent in 2014.
"It's been an interesting trend in the last few years as China's economy slows a bit and the U.S. economy slowly bounces back," says Richard Wike, one of the authors.
While much of Europe believes Obama has been good for America's greatness -- half or more of those polled in 15 of 16 countries express confidence in his leadership -- they have little faith in Donald Trump's stewardship. In nearly half the nations polled, the share of the public with confidence in Trump is in single digits. Among Europeans, 85 percent lack confidence in him.
"It's clear that he is quite unpopular," Wike says.
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton fares better in the survey, which was conducted among 20,132 respondents from April 4 to May 29, 2016. While she's not as popular as Obama, a median of 59 percent of Europeans have confidence in her. Most Australians and Japanese also rate her more favorably than Trump.
The survey found more support for current U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East than during the Iraq War a decade ago. About half or more survey respondents in all 15 nations where the question was asked say they are behind the U.S.-led military campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
That said, Obama's use of drone strikes in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia have not had much support. In 39 of 44 nations surveyed in 2014, Pew found majorities or pluralities opposed U.S. drone strikes.
In previous surveys, Pew found the Middle East had some of the lowest ratings for the U.S. "The Obama effect really never took hold in the Middle East," Wike says.
The U.S. reputation also suffered a bit in terms of its respect for civil liberties. While majorities in 10 of 16 nations believed the U.S. government respects the personal freedoms of its people, the percentage of Europeans who hold this view declined during the past three years. The report ties the change to revelations about the U.S. National Security Agency's electronic surveillance programs.
"We found globally there was a lot of resistance to us eavesdropping on the world," Wike says.
In terms of the overall power and influence of the U.S. now versus 10 years ago, global opinion seems to be mixed.
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Japan is the only country where the majority of people think the U.S. is less powerful and important than 10 years ago, while India is the only country that believes it is more powerful. In the other countries, respondents were fairly divided.
U.S. citizens were more likely than others to see their county as less powerful, with 46 percent believing the U.S. plays a less important role in the world.
Despite the U.S.' perceived short-term gains in economic power, much of the world believes China "has eclipsed or will eventually eclipse" the U.S. as the dominant superpower.
The European countries in the survey included Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Greece and Hungary. In Asia, the survey included Australia, China, India and Japan.
Devon Haynie is news editor, international for U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dhaynie@usnews.com.
