How the world sees Donald Trump: surveys show other countries see US president as ‘unreliable’ and ‘dangerous’

The Conversation · May 21, 2026 · 821 words · By Paul Whiteley

Democratic Stability Political polarization International Reputation of the US

The article discusses Pew International survey data regarding global and domestic disapproval of President Trump and the war in Iran. It analyzes the correlation between confidence in the president and the type of government in various countries, while suggesting potential paths for the US to recover its international reputation.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/how-the-world-sees-donald-trump-surveys-show-other-c…

analyticsAnalysis

40%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 90%

Moderate concerns. Notable use of persuasive or loaded language.

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

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Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

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Slippery Slope 70% confidence

Arguing that one event will inevitably lead to extreme consequences without evidence.

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Oversimplification 70% confidence

Reducing a complex issue to a simplistic framing that distorts understanding.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 6

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 2

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“According to a survey conducted in April by US-based pollster, Pew International, 61% of people in the US disapprove of the war while only 37% approve.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for claim 0 only contains general information about the Pew Research Center and does not mention any specific survey from April regarding approval/disapproval of a war in Iran.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shapi…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pew_Research_Center

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web search NEUTRAL — ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It does not take policy position…
https://www.pewresearch.org/

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web search NEUTRAL — May 13, 2026 · Pew's work lays the foundation for effective policies and practices by invigorating civic life, conducting research, informing and engaging citizens, linking diverse interests to pursue…
https://www.pew.org/en/

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“The US president’s overall approval rating, meanwhile, has slipped to 34%.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources (Newsweek and another web result) explicitly state that the US president's overall approval rating has slipped to 34%.

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web search NEUTRAL — Rating the presidents: a ranking US leaders, from the great and honorable to the dishonest and incompetent.Presidents. Professional career. Approval rating. Assassination attempts and plots. Control o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_preside…

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web search NEUTRAL — According to the poll, the president's overall approval rating is 34 percent versus a 64 percent disapproval rating. This is "the lowest mark of his second term. He has also lost ground across a varie…
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-approval-rating-is-sliding-am…

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web search NEUTRAL — The US president’s overall approval rating, meanwhile, has slipped to 34%. In many other countries, however, this disenchantment looms larger. Pew’s spring 2025 survey revealed 12 months ago a strong …
https://theconversation.com/how-the-world-sees-donald-trump-…

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“Pew’s spring 2025 survey revealed 12 months ago a strong lack of confidence in Donald Trump across much of the world.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific detail about a 'spring 2025 survey' revealing a lack of confidence 12 months ago is found in one specific web result. Other results mention Pew surveys generally but not this specific timeframe/context.

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web search NEUTRAL — Pew’s spring 2025 survey revealed 12 months ago a strong lack of confidence in Donald Trump across much of the world. The survey was conducted in 24 mostly European countries, but also countries in As…
https://theconversation.com/how-the-world-sees-donald-trump-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Survey of 25 nations also showed that respondents from across the globe have less confidence in US president's ability to lead than they do in Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.
https://www.voanews.com/a/pew-survey-america-s-image-worsens…

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web search NEUTRAL — The global image of the U.S.A. is at a historic low, with Canadians — and most people across 25 countries surveyed — expressing little confidence in Trump, a new Pew Research Center study has found.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4510841/donald-trump-canada-surve…

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“The survey was conducted in 24 mostly European countries, but also countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The detail that the survey was conducted in 24 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America is mentioned in the same single source as claim 2. Other evidence provided for this claim is general information about Pew.

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“The country with the lowest levels of confidence was Mexico with Canada, Sweden and Germany not far behind.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources confirm Mexico had the lowest levels of confidence in Donald Trump, with one specifically mentioning the 6% figure and others mentioning Canada, Sweden, and Germany as also having low confidence.

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web search NEUTRAL — The country with the lowest levels of confidence was Mexico with Canada, Sweden and Germany not far behind. Interestingly, proximity to the United States appears to boost a lack of confidence in the p…
https://theconversation.com/how-the-world-sees-donald-trump-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Donald Trump’s international ratings remains poor, and opinion of the U.S. has declined since his election.Meanwhile, Trump’s lowest ratings on the survey are found in Mexico, where just 6% express co…
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/10/01/trumps-interna…

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web search NEUTRAL — Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes. The US president has offered praise and dished out criticism of Germany. Whether describing the chancellor as "the greatest" or claiming Berlin owes "vast sums of …
https://www.dw.com/en/world-prefers-angela-merkel-to-donald-…

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“only 37% of UK respondents were confident, compared with 63% who were not.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence mentions the survey asked if Trump was 'dangerous' but does not provide the specific percentage (37% confident / 63% not) for UK respondents.

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web search NEUTRAL — Is Trump dangerous? This lack of confidence in the president is only part of the story. The survey asked what respondents thought about various traits that could be associated with Trump as president.
https://theconversation.com/how-the-world-sees-donald-trump-…

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web search NEUTRAL — One woman screams NO as Donald Trump is declared 45th President of the United States of America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDYNVH0U3cs

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web search NEUTRAL — Pew Research Center staff called back some of the Muslim American respondents in this survey to get additional thoughts on some of the topics covered. Here is a sampling of what they said about what i…
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/07/26/findings-fro…

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“There were five countries in which the president enjoyed a positive net level of confidence: Hungary, Kenya, India, Israel and Nigeria.”

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The evidence provided for this claim consists of general Wikipedia and World Atlas entries about Hungary and does not mention survey results regarding confidence in the US president.

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web search NEUTRAL — Hungary lies within the Danube River's drainage basin, and is dominated by great lowland plains. It has a population of over 9.5 million, consisting mostly of ethnic Hungarians (Magyars) and a signifi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary

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web search NEUTRAL — May 14, 2026 · Hungary, landlocked country of central Europe. The capital is Budapest. At the end of World War I, defeated Hungary lost 71 percent of its territory as a result of the Treaty of Trianon…
https://www.britannica.com/place/Hungary

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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 25, 2021 · The blank outline map represents the territory of the sovereign landlocked nation of Hungary in Central Europe. The map can be downloaded, printed, and used for coloring or map-pointing…
https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/hungary

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“These are all classified as hybrid authoritarian regimes or flawed democracies by the Economist Intelligence Unit.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided describes what The Economist is, but does not contain the specific classification of the listed countries as hybrid authoritarian regimes or flawed democracies.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Economist ... The Economist is a British news and current affairs journal published in a weekly print magazine format and daily on digital platforms. Widely considered a magazine, it refers to its…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist

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web search NEUTRAL — Know which way is up. Trusted daily reporting and news analysis. Make sense of politics, economics, business and technology with articles, podcasts and videos.
https://www.economist.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — The Economist’s podcasts bring our global audiences thought-provoking, entertaining analysis of the world’s most important developments. From news and finance to culture and technology, our podcasts a…
https://www.economistgroup.com/businesses/the-economist

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“More than 50% of the respondents in 21 of the countries thought this [that Trump was dangerous].”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.

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“the US and Israel’s attack on Iran, which took place after the survey was in the field”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.

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“the US has been a democracy for 250 years.”

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“it is currently classified as a “flawed democracy” in the Economist Intelligence Unit database.”

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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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How the world sees Donald Trump: surveys show other countries see US president as ‘unreliable’ and ‘dangerous’

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psychologyDetected Techniques

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