World Economic Forum 2018: US experiences decline in approval of global leadership
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In his speech in Davos on Friday, Trump held on to his America First principles. But he also called for more global cooperation. In his words, "when the United States grows, so does the world." Other countries now seem less willing to follow America's lead. The 2018 "Rating World Leaders" survey by Gallup shows a sharp drop in approval of US leadership.
America First is U.S. President Donald Trump's policy, but when it comes to global leadership more people think it's more like America Third. The findings from more than 130 countries show a significant slippage in approval of U.S. leadership.
Under U.S. President Obama in 2016, U.S. leadership had a rating of 48%. Now it's 30%. China was higher, at 31%. And Germany was the top rated global power at 41% Some of biggest percentage drops are among close friends and allies with big drops in Canada and Mexico. Trump famously said he was elected to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris. But in a recent domestic poll, Trump's U.S. numbers are not good either. Out of the last four U.S. presidents, Trump has by far the worst approval rating.
The U.S. does see gains in the Middle East-especially in Israel where approval jumped more than 10% but that happened in over just a few other nations.