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People carry signs and banners as they gather in Trafalgar Square, central London, to demonstrate against the state visit of President Donald Trump, Tuesday, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Tim Ireland/AP)
Two-Thirds of People Around the World Say Trump Can't Be Trusted to Make Right Choice on Foreign Policy
Low confidence in Trump was expressed even before the president escalated tensions with Iran with the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.
Jan 07, 2020
Even before President Donald Trump stunned the international community by ordering the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani last week, people around the world had little confidence in Trump's handling of global affairs.
In a Pew survey taken of nearly 37,000 people in 33 countries between May and October 2019 and released Wednesday, 64% of respondents said they did not have confidence that Trump would do "the right thing" when making decisions about relations with other countries.
The Pew Research Center asked respondents whether they favored a number of Trump's most significant decisions up to last year, including his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement, his proposal to build a wall along the southern U.S. border as well as other aggressive anti-immigration policies aimed at deterring immigration, and his decision to increase tariffs on imported goods.
Respondents in Mexico had the least favorable view of Trump. The president was viewed negatively by 89% of people in the country that the president claimed in 2015 was sending its "most unwanted people" including "criminals, drug dealers, rapists" to immigrate to the United States.
The president also had low favorability ratings in European countries including the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Germany, and France, with about three-quarters of people in those countries saying they weren't confident in Trump's foreign policy decisions.
In the last year of his first term, Trump's results were similar to those of George W. Bush at the end of his second term as president, five years into the Iraq War and around the time that the speculation on Wall Street sent the global economy into a meltdown.
At the end of President Barack Obama's second term, 79% of international respondents viewed the 44th president favorably.
It is "worth reiterating the damage Trump is doing to our alliances at a moment when we could use steadfast allies," political scientist Brian Klaas tweeted, along with a chart showing the difference between global opinions regarding Obama during his presidency versus those of Trump.
\u201cWorth reiterating the damage Trump is doing to our alliances at a moment when we could use steadfast allies. \n\nConfidence in US leadership, change from Obama to Trump:\n\n\u219376% Germany\n\u219375% France\n\u219358% Canada\n\u219352% Australia\n\u219351% UK\n\u219348% Japan\n\u21918% Russia\n(Pew 2018).\u201d— Brian Klaas (@Brian Klaas) 1578505292
Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at Pew, wrote that negative attitudes about U.S. leadership plummeted during Bush's tenure due to the perception of the U.S. as an "unchecked superpower," while people today see Trump as isolating the U.S. from the global community by breaching and withdrawing from international agreements.
\u201cPew surveys in 2019 found overwhelming opposition to Trump\u2019s policies on trade, climate, immigration, and Iran\u2014all instances in which the U.S. seems to be erecting barriers and pulling away from global commitments. @RichardWike breaks down the results:\nhttps://t.co/MZiGAA4we3\u201d— Foreign Affairs (@Foreign Affairs) 1578505145
"In the Trump era, by contrast, critics are less concerned about the exercise of unrivaled U.S. power than they are about a U.S. retreat--from both global leadership and liberal democracy," wrote Wike.
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Even before President Donald Trump stunned the international community by ordering the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani last week, people around the world had little confidence in Trump's handling of global affairs.
In a Pew survey taken of nearly 37,000 people in 33 countries between May and October 2019 and released Wednesday, 64% of respondents said they did not have confidence that Trump would do "the right thing" when making decisions about relations with other countries.
The Pew Research Center asked respondents whether they favored a number of Trump's most significant decisions up to last year, including his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement, his proposal to build a wall along the southern U.S. border as well as other aggressive anti-immigration policies aimed at deterring immigration, and his decision to increase tariffs on imported goods.
Respondents in Mexico had the least favorable view of Trump. The president was viewed negatively by 89% of people in the country that the president claimed in 2015 was sending its "most unwanted people" including "criminals, drug dealers, rapists" to immigrate to the United States.
The president also had low favorability ratings in European countries including the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Germany, and France, with about three-quarters of people in those countries saying they weren't confident in Trump's foreign policy decisions.
In the last year of his first term, Trump's results were similar to those of George W. Bush at the end of his second term as president, five years into the Iraq War and around the time that the speculation on Wall Street sent the global economy into a meltdown.
At the end of President Barack Obama's second term, 79% of international respondents viewed the 44th president favorably.
It is "worth reiterating the damage Trump is doing to our alliances at a moment when we could use steadfast allies," political scientist Brian Klaas tweeted, along with a chart showing the difference between global opinions regarding Obama during his presidency versus those of Trump.
\u201cWorth reiterating the damage Trump is doing to our alliances at a moment when we could use steadfast allies. \n\nConfidence in US leadership, change from Obama to Trump:\n\n\u219376% Germany\n\u219375% France\n\u219358% Canada\n\u219352% Australia\n\u219351% UK\n\u219348% Japan\n\u21918% Russia\n(Pew 2018).\u201d— Brian Klaas (@Brian Klaas) 1578505292
Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at Pew, wrote that negative attitudes about U.S. leadership plummeted during Bush's tenure due to the perception of the U.S. as an "unchecked superpower," while people today see Trump as isolating the U.S. from the global community by breaching and withdrawing from international agreements.
\u201cPew surveys in 2019 found overwhelming opposition to Trump\u2019s policies on trade, climate, immigration, and Iran\u2014all instances in which the U.S. seems to be erecting barriers and pulling away from global commitments. @RichardWike breaks down the results:\nhttps://t.co/MZiGAA4we3\u201d— Foreign Affairs (@Foreign Affairs) 1578505145
"In the Trump era, by contrast, critics are less concerned about the exercise of unrivaled U.S. power than they are about a U.S. retreat--from both global leadership and liberal democracy," wrote Wike.
Even before President Donald Trump stunned the international community by ordering the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani last week, people around the world had little confidence in Trump's handling of global affairs.
In a Pew survey taken of nearly 37,000 people in 33 countries between May and October 2019 and released Wednesday, 64% of respondents said they did not have confidence that Trump would do "the right thing" when making decisions about relations with other countries.
The Pew Research Center asked respondents whether they favored a number of Trump's most significant decisions up to last year, including his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement, his proposal to build a wall along the southern U.S. border as well as other aggressive anti-immigration policies aimed at deterring immigration, and his decision to increase tariffs on imported goods.
Respondents in Mexico had the least favorable view of Trump. The president was viewed negatively by 89% of people in the country that the president claimed in 2015 was sending its "most unwanted people" including "criminals, drug dealers, rapists" to immigrate to the United States.
The president also had low favorability ratings in European countries including the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Germany, and France, with about three-quarters of people in those countries saying they weren't confident in Trump's foreign policy decisions.
In the last year of his first term, Trump's results were similar to those of George W. Bush at the end of his second term as president, five years into the Iraq War and around the time that the speculation on Wall Street sent the global economy into a meltdown.
At the end of President Barack Obama's second term, 79% of international respondents viewed the 44th president favorably.
It is "worth reiterating the damage Trump is doing to our alliances at a moment when we could use steadfast allies," political scientist Brian Klaas tweeted, along with a chart showing the difference between global opinions regarding Obama during his presidency versus those of Trump.
\u201cWorth reiterating the damage Trump is doing to our alliances at a moment when we could use steadfast allies. \n\nConfidence in US leadership, change from Obama to Trump:\n\n\u219376% Germany\n\u219375% France\n\u219358% Canada\n\u219352% Australia\n\u219351% UK\n\u219348% Japan\n\u21918% Russia\n(Pew 2018).\u201d— Brian Klaas (@Brian Klaas) 1578505292
Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at Pew, wrote that negative attitudes about U.S. leadership plummeted during Bush's tenure due to the perception of the U.S. as an "unchecked superpower," while people today see Trump as isolating the U.S. from the global community by breaching and withdrawing from international agreements.
\u201cPew surveys in 2019 found overwhelming opposition to Trump\u2019s policies on trade, climate, immigration, and Iran\u2014all instances in which the U.S. seems to be erecting barriers and pulling away from global commitments. @RichardWike breaks down the results:\nhttps://t.co/MZiGAA4we3\u201d— Foreign Affairs (@Foreign Affairs) 1578505145
"In the Trump era, by contrast, critics are less concerned about the exercise of unrivaled U.S. power than they are about a U.S. retreat--from both global leadership and liberal democracy," wrote Wike.
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LATEST NEWS
Judge Stops DOGE From Shutting Down African Aid Agency After Tense Standoff With Staff
DOGE staffers returned to the U.S. African Development Foundation Thursday with U.S. marshals, demanding access to the agency.
Mar 07, 2025
After several employees of a small foreign assistance agency faced a "traumatizing" show of force by Department of Government Efficiency staffers who were accompanied by several U.S. marshals Thursday in an effort to take over their offices, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from shutting down the agency in the coming days.
Ward Brehm, president of the U.S. Africa Development Foundation (USADF), filed a lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that DOGE's attempt to remove Brehm from his position and take over the agency violates the Appointments Clause and the African Development Foundation Act, the law passed by Congress which created USADF.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, an appointee of former Republican President George W. Bush, issued a temporary injunction. Brehm and the advocacy group Democracy Forward, which is representing him in the suit, also requested a permanent injunction.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, called the ruling "a sigh of relief for people in the United States and across the globe who benefit from the safer and more resilient communities USADF's work creates."
"Democracy Forward will continue to meet the Trump administration in court with every unlawful step it takes," said Perryman. "We will continue to use every tool available to protect USADF and fight back against the Trump-Musk overreach."
After first attempting to gain access to the UDSADF offices on Wednesday—an effort that was blocked by about 30 agency employees—DOGE staffers returned to the agency on Thursday at about 10:30 am, accompanied by Pete Marocco, director of the State Department Office of Foreign Assistance, and five U.S. marshals.
Many of the USADF employees worked from home on Thursday after the incident the previous day; the ones who were in the office avoided a confrontation with the DOGE employees and U.S. marshals by exiting the building via a stairwell, leaving their personal belongings behind.
USADF officials who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity—to avoid retribution by DOGE and the White House—described the scene as "frantic and 'traumatizing.'"
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 19 ordering "a reduction in the elements of the federal bureaucracy that the president has determined are unnecessary," including USADF, which works to further economic development across Africa by partnering with farmers and field staff; the think tank U.S. Institute of Peace; the Presidio Trust, which oversees a national park site in San Francisco; and the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), which invests in development across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Brehm said in his legal filing that DOGE staffers tried to access USADF's computer systems shortly after the executive order was signed.
"When USADF learned that DOGE was there to kill the agency, USADF staff refused DOGE access to cancel all grants and contracts," read the complaint.
DOGE placed nearly all the employees of the IAF on administrative leave this week after canceling grants for investments in alpaca farming in Peru, beekeeping in Brazil, and vegetable growing in El Salvador.
On Thursday, USADF staff told the Post in a statement that their offices "were entered today by Mr. Peter Marocco and others who we do not believe are authorized to represent the agency. USADF is fully complying with its statutory obligations. We will follow the law with the expectation that our staff will be treated with dignity and respect."
A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, referred to Brehm in a statement as an "entitled, rogue bureaucrat" and claimed he has "no authority to defy executive orders by the president of the United States or physically bar his representatives from entering the agencies they run."
A USADF official told the Post Wednesday that "it's explicit in the statute [that created USADF] that the agency can only be dissolved by an act of Congress and the president can only be hired and fired by the board."
In his lawsuit, Brehm wrote that if DOGE shuts down USADF, "we will feel the ripple effects across the African continent and in the United States."
"Our work boosts economic stability in fragile regions, with investments in more than 1,000 African-owned and led businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations," said Brehm. "Not only have we improved the lives of millions of people in Africa, we've contributed to a safer and more secure world."
After Latest Musk Starship Explosion, 'We Are All in the Debris Field of a SpaceX Mishap'
"Really reassuring that the SpaceX guy is taking over the FAA," one observer quipped.
Mar 07, 2025
The eighth test launch of SpaceX's Starship, which billionaire CEO Elon Musk claims will be the spacecraft that eventually transports humans to Mars, ended Thursday in much the same way the seventh did: an explosive failure that sent toxic and polluting debris raining down from the sky.
"We are all in the debris field of a SpaceX mishap," remarked journalist Aaron Rupar after the spacecraft exploded just minutes following its lift-off from a launch site in Texas.
Reuters reported that "several videos on social media showed fiery debris streaking through the dusk skies near south Florida and the Bahamas after Starship broke up in space shortly after it began to spin uncontrollably with its engines cut off."
"The back-to-back mishaps occurred in early mission phases that SpaceX has easily surpassed previously, a setback for a program Musk had sought to speed up this year," the news agency added.
Musk, who is leading SpaceX while simultaneously spearheading a lawless effort to eviscerate the federal government and its workforce, wrote on his social media platform following the Starship explosion that "rockets are hard."
Another failed launch by Elon Musks' SpaceX tonight.
Tesla's explodes. Twitter collapses. SpaceX crumbles. Everything Elon Musk touches turns to shit.
Let's call a spade a spade—Musk is a failure.pic.twitter.com/07DscAvPbF
— The Debt Collective 🟥 (@StrikeDebt) March 7, 2025
The explosion forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—an agency that Musk and his cronies have infiltrated—to suspend air traffic at several Florida airports, citing "space launch debris."
The New York Times reported that falling debris from the Starship explosion impacted flights "as far away as Philadelphia International Airport."
Musk, the world's richest man, has been vocal about wanting SpaceX subsidiary Starlink to take over the FAA's air traffic control system.
Following Thursday's explosion and subsequent flight disruptions, New Yorker staff writer Philip Gourevitch wrote sardonically, "Really reassuring that the SpaceX guy is taking over the FAA."
'Cruelty Is the Point': Private Prison Giants Set to Cash In as Trump Revives Family Detention
"Taking away a child's freedom and deliberately putting them in these conditions is unconscionable, as is denying a parent their most fundamental role of providing their child with a loving and nurturing environment."
Mar 07, 2025
Private prison companies in the United States can hardly contain their excitement as the Trump administration moves to revive the practice of detaining migrant families at facilities with records of horrifying abuses, a decision that advocacy groups say highlights the White House's disdain for human rights as it carries out its large-scale assault on immigrants.
"Reopening family detention facilities with devastating histories of abuses, trauma, and long-term psychological damage underscores that cruelty is the point of these Trump administration policies," Amy Fischer, director of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Program at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement Thursday after CBS News reported the administration's moves.
According to CBS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—newly empowered by President Donald Trump—"was detaining the first group of migrant parents and children" on Thursday "in a detention facility in Texas designed to hold families with minors."
"The group includes three children," the outlet added, citing an internal government report.
Separately, NBC News reported Thursday that "U.S. immigration agents are planning a new operation to arrest migrant families with children as part of a nationwide crackdown."
"During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump and border czar Tom Homan said that plans for mass deportations would initially focus on migrants who had committed crimes," NBC observed. "The new plans for national operations show that many of the families and children to be targeted do not have criminal histories."
As part of the revival of family detention—which was used by the Obama administration and the first Trump administration, and largely ended by the Biden administration—immigration officials are "refitting" two Texas facilities, including the notorious detention center in Dilley, Texas.
CoreCivic, a private prison company, has been newly contracted by ICE to reopen the facility for family detention.
"I've worked at CoreCivic for 32 years, and this is truly one of the most exciting periods in my career," Damon Hininger, CoreCivic's CEO, told investors last month.
George Zoley, executive chairman of the GEO Group, said last week that "we've never seen anything like this before," referring to the speed with which the Trump administration is moving to procure contracts for migrant detention.
The New York Times reported Friday that "a GEO Group subsidiary gave more than $2 million to Republican PACs that accept unlimited donations, with the bulk going to groups that supported House Republicans and Mr. Trump."
"It is enraging to see the Trump administration reinstate family detention, a policy of jailing immigrant parents with their children—including babies."
The Detention Watch Network noted that while the Dilley center was "in operation for family detention, there were reports of foul water and negligent medical treatment, with hospitals confirming that children are consistently released with health issues they dubbed 'Dilley-ish.'"
"In 2018, a 19-month-old girl, Mariee, tragically died after leaving the facility, and in 2019, a guard was accused of physically assaulting a 5-year-old," the organization said.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wrote earlier this week that he visited the center in December 2018 and "it was horrifying."
"The cruelty and abuse of Trump's family detention policy is a lasting stain on our nation," Merkley wrote on social media. "I'm calling on the admin to reverse this decision—in no world should this facility reopen."
Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director of the Detention Watch Network, said Thursday that "it is enraging to see the Trump administration reinstate family detention, a policy of jailing immigrant parents with their children—including babies."
"Detention is harmful and traumatic for everyone, but especially children," said Ghandehari. "Families should be able to navigate their immigration cases in community with support services provided and facilitated by local community-based groups—never Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an enforcement agency that is plagued by egregiously poor conditions and a culture of violence."
"Taking away a child's freedom and deliberately putting them in these conditions is unconscionable, as is denying a parent their most fundamental role of providing their child with a loving and nurturing environment," Ghandehari added. "Family detention, like all immigration detention, is inhumane, unjust, and unnecessary. Everyone, certainly children and their parents, deserves to freely and safely move for opportunity and stability."
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