Polling reveals growing distrust of US among closest allies

A majority or plurality of respondents in several of the United States’ closest allied countries now view Washington as a negative force on the global stage, according to new international polling.

The POLITICO–Public First survey found that majorities in Canada and pluralities in Germany and France believe the US is a negative force in world affairs. In the United Kingdom, views are more divided, but more than one-third of respondents share that assessment. Near-majorities in all four countries also said the US tends to create problems for other countries rather than solve them.

The polling reflects how Trump’s reshaping of US foreign policy — including an aggressive trade agenda, confrontational rhetoric toward long-standing allies and changes in US military posture — is being received across key allied capitals. When asked whether the US supports or challenges its allies, a majority of Canadians said Washington challenges them. Just under half of respondents in Germany and France agreed, while about 40 per cent in the UK said the US challenges rather than supports its allies.

In Britain, the survey found that more than a third of respondents believe the US cannot be depended on in a crisis, nearly half say it creates problems for other countries, and 35 per cent describe it as a negative global force.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against European criticism, arguing that the transatlantic alliance remains rooted in shared “civilizational” values. Speaking at a briefing last week, Rubio said the US and Europe share history, values and principles that Washington should defend unapologetically.

In Germany, doubts over US military support for Ukraine, concerns about Washington’s commitment to NATO and Trump’s tariff policies have added urgency to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s push to break with long-standing limits on defence spending. Even before taking office, Merz secured a major fiscal overhaul, unlocking hundreds of billions of euros for defence and infrastructure after years of austerity.

In France, where scepticism toward the US has traditionally been strong, President Emmanuel Macron has combined personal diplomacy with Trump while using US unpredictability to reinforce calls for greater European strategic autonomy.

In the UK, Trump remains a polarising figure, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer has largely avoided public confrontation as he seeks to finalise a US-UK trade deal and coordinate a European response to Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine.

Canada has experienced the sharpest deterioration in relations, amid an intense trade dispute and Trump’s repeated rhetoric about annexation.

Within the US, Americans continue to view their country more favourably than their allies do. According to the poll, 49 per cent say the US supports its allies, 52 per cent say it can be depended on in a crisis, and 51 per cent describe it as a positive force globally. However, views are sharply polarised. Nearly half of voters who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris last year say the US is a negative force, compared with just 13 per cent of Trump voters, three-quarters of whom describe the US as positive.

POLITICO notes that the data point to a rapid shift among Democrats, with a significant number changing their assessment of the US role in the world within a single year, highlighting the depth of domestic and international polarisation surrounding Trump’s return to office.

By Tamilla Hasanova