Washington DC - President Donald Trump has reached an all-time new low in a recent international poll which found the US' global image has sunk below that of China's for the first time in two decades.
A new Pew Research Center poll reveals that international views on the US began worsening before Trump ascended to the presidency last year, but began an even steeper decline under his leadership.
In 2023, a year before the presidential election, approximately 58% of people had a positive view of the US, compared to China's 32%. Now, the US sits at 36% while China sits at 46%.
The survey was conducted over 36 countries. Most of these countries individually showed a steep decline in how people view the US. Only Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan, and Israel still hold a favorable view.
Confidence that former President Joe Biden's foreign policy sat at 54% in 2023 and 47% in 2024. Since 2024, faith that Trump will do the right thing on the world stage has declined even further – from around 47% to 21%.
Xi has seen a boost in his popularity, from 19% approval in 2023 to 31%. People generally have more confidence in Xi than in Trump in 2026.
Pew's Global Attitudes Research Associate Director Laura Silver told the Guardian that faith in the US has steeply declined due to Trump's unpredictable foreign policy and the war with Iran.
"There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the US is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," Silver said.
"By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It's more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability."