The World Has Lost Faith in Trump, But India Remains Uncertain, Finds Survey
New Delhi: Pew Research Centre's new global attitudes survey reveals that opinions on United States President Donald Trump are overwhelmingly negative around the globe, with no country reporting a positive shift in attitudes. Across the 36 nations surveyed, fewer than one in four adults expressed confidence in Trump's leadership of world affairs. In 16 of the 24 countries where Pew could track trend changes over time, the already-low figure has slipped further since last year. The research also finds that fewer people view the US as a reliable international partner or as a country that takes other nation's interests into consideration when making foreign policy decisions.
Conducted between February 8 and May 13, 2026, covering 42,000 respondents across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Gulf region, the survey paints a bleak picture of an international community growing not only dissatisfied with Trump, but also increasingly detached from the country he leads. The proportion of publics who regard the US as a dependable partner has fallen sharply in several of America's key trade partners. In Canada, a country where 83% described the US as a reliable partner in 2022, the figure now sits at just 35%.
On the issue of Trump's widely unpopular tariff policies, approval rating is especially low among nations with which the US has large trade relationships – only 27% in the United Kingdom, 18% in India, 17% in Canada, 15% in Japan, 14% in South Korea, 11% in Mexico and 8% in Germany. Kenya is the only country surveyed in which a majority of people approve of Trump's handling of tariffs.
Implications of the Iran war
The survey was not carried out in a vacuum. On February 28, 2026, just as fieldwork was getting underway, the US and Israel launched a joint airstrike against Iran. Pew takes this pivotal development into account, conducting a regression analysis to examine whether people surveyed later in the fieldwork period held differing views from those surveyed before the war. The research finds a distinct variance.
After controlling for demographic factors such as age, gender, political ideology and education, favourability towards the US declined significantly as the survey progressed in Greece, India, Italy, Kenya, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Thailand. The results suggest that people interviewed after the war broke out were less likely to report that the US contributes to global peace and security. They were also less likely to view the US as a reliable partner.
The report explicitly mentions India as a country where favourability towards the US decreased significantly after the attacks. This means that the survey's analysis of Indian opinion is better understood as a real-time reaction to an unfolding conflict, rather than a persistent shift in sentiment. Opinions in India pertaining to Trump and the US' popularity were also conspicuously unresolved, not being especially strong in either direction.
India
In a 2025 survey conducted by Pew on issue-specific confidence in Trump, respondents in India reported relatively elevated confidence in Trump with regards to global economic management, as compared to most nations. However, a large proportion described themselves as unsure instead of offering a conclusive opinion. In context of immigration policies and the Israeli genocide in Gaza, more Indians expressed confidence in Trump than a lack of it.
In 2026, of the 17 middle-income countries surveyed, India is the only one where the belief that the US interferes in other countries' affairs is held by less than half of the population. Nevertheless, Indians who do believe the US interferes outnumber those who disagree at 47% versus 30%. Therefore, even though it is not a wholehearted defender of American foreign policy, India is considerably less suspicious of US intentions than most other countries.
This observation is evident in Pew's analysis of confidence in Trump across countries. While 36% of Indian respondents expressed no confidence, 39% said they were confident in Trump's decisions concerning world affairs. Similarly, 45% hold favourable views of the US as opposed to 31% who do not.
An interesting distinction emerges when tariff data is studied. An 18% approval rating for Trump's handling of the tariff issue places India squarely among the most critical trading partners of the US. This indicates that although Indian respondents report relative tolerance on questions of US interference and Trump's leadership, there is a prevalent disapproval regarding the economic strain imposed due to the increase in tariffs.
Where Trump fares the best and the worst
Trump's strongest ratings come from the Philippines, Israel, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. In Israel support for Trump is much higher among Jewish respondents (79%) than among Arab Israelis (13%). In Nigeria, 87% of Christian respondents express confidence in him, whereas confidence among Nigerian Muslims has collapsed by 41 percentage points since last year, currently sitting at 33%.
Among Muslim majority publics, the ratings are predominantly dire: 92% of Turkish respondents, 87% of Malaysians and 82% of Pakistanis expressed no confidence in Trump. Mexico and Sweden also reported very low levels of confidence, at 88% and 89% respectively. There is a widespread lack of confidence in Turkey and Jerusalem, where only 6% and 4% of respondents expressed any confidence at all.
Photo: Pew Research Centre.
He ironically fares the best in the realm international humanitarian aid, however, majorities in just five middle-income countries approve of his handling of the issue – the Philippines (66%), Kenya (65%), Sri Lanka (57%), Colombia (56%) and Peru (55%). The second best ratings were recorded on the issue of immigration. Trump's policies were most popular among ideologically-right people, particularly Europeans who support right-wing populist parties.
In 18 of the 27 countries where Pew measured political ideology, right-leaning people were more likely to express confidence in Trump. Still, among right-wing supporters, Trump's ratings have worsened since 2025. The only other world leader in the survey who scored lower than Trump in global confidence ratings is Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hence, the survey shows a significant worldwide decline in receptiveness towards Trump's policies and decision-making, with US soft power and international perception taking a severe blow.
This article went live on June twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty six, at forty minutes past one in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
