Majority of Americans say Trump has damaged US standing in the world, Independent poll reveals
Exclusive poll: A new survey for The Independent finds that more US voters have a poor view of Trump’s handling of international affairs and think that he has made the US less safe
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Your support makes all the difference.The majority of Americans believe that Donald Trump has harmed the standing of the US in the world, according to an exclusive new poll commissioned by The Independent.
Fifty one per cent of respondents felt that the president had harmed the reputation of the country, and 36 per cent felt that he had improved it.
Mr Trump has been attacked by his critics for withdrawing from the Paris climate change agreement – a decision that Joe Biden said he would reverse on his first day in office — and for fostering tense relations with traditional allies of the US, such as Canada, France and Germany.
His critics also accuse him of cosying up to dictators, telling a press conference that he believed Vladimir Putin’s word over that of his own intelligence agencies, and they worry that his actions in Syria – where he rapidly withdrew US troops and left the Kurds stranded, at the request of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan – have concerned America’s military allies.
They also note that his much-publicised meetings with Kim Jong-un have not yielded results — although they have arguably prevented further escalation.
His supporters praise his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, his moving of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and his efforts to make Nato members pay their fair share.
The poll, carried out for The Independent by JL Partners, surveyed 1,002 Americans between 26 October and 28 October.
Respondents also felt that Mr Trump had made the US less safe.
The same number that thought Mr Trump had reduced America’s standing in the world — 51 per cent — believed he had made the US more at risk. Thirty four per cent said that Mr Trump had made America safer.
Only a third of voters said that Mr Trump had “made America great again”, with 52 per cent disagreeing.
Mr Trump’s approach to race relations and divisions within the US were also met with more disapproval than approval.
After a summer dominated by racial unrest the likes of which have not been seen since the 1960s, sparked by the killing of George Floyd on 25 May, Mr Trump has made “law and order” a frequent refrain, and has accused Mr Biden of being soft on crime.
The killing on Monday in Philadelphia of Walter Wallace, a mentally disturbed Black man armed with a knife who was shot dead by police, was acknowledged by the White House with a statement that did not name Mr Wallace. Instead they said his killing was “the most recent consequence of the Liberal Democrats’ war against the police”.
Mr Trump’s approach has not gone down well with most Americans.
Only 31 per cent felt he was good for America on race relations, while 53 per cent disagreed.
Even fewer — 25 per cent — felt that Mr Trump made America less divided, and 56 per cent disagreed.
Amongst current Trump voters, 54 per cent agreed and 17 per cent disagreed.
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