As global leaders convene in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, new results from The POLITICO Poll show President Donald Trump’s efforts to rewrite longstanding international relationships — particularly in Europe — are repelling longtime, traditionally loyal partners. The United States’ eroding reputation is raising fresh questions about the stability of the global order that has held for decades, and of the country’s strength on the world stage.
Across all countries polled, far more people described the U.S. as an unreliable ally than a reliable one, including half the adults polled in Germany and 57 percent in Canada. In France, too, the share of people who called the U.S. unreliable was more than double the share who said it was reliable.
American credibility was highest in the U.K., but only by comparison: Thirty-five percent of Britons said the U.S. was a reliable ally and 39 percent said it was unreliable.
American military power is increasingly seen as an uncertain asset. In the international survey, pluralities of adults in France and Germany said they did not believe enemies would be afraid to attack them because of their relationship with the U.S. And in just one year, there has been a stark 10 percent drop in the share of U.K. adults who still see the U.S. as an effective deterrent against enemy attacks.
The online survey, conducted by the independent London-based polling company Public First, reveals how trust in the United States among four key NATO allies has dropped sharply over the past year amid a series of disputes with Washington.
In the U.K., France and Germany, negative perceptions of the U.S. outweigh positive ones on key measures, including whether it protects democracy, shares their values and acts as a reliable ally.
Starting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s address to the Munich Security Conference last year, which shocked his European hosts, relations between Washington and key NATO allies have been rocked by trade rows, aggressive rhetoric and a Trump-led push to seize Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark.
The crises have prompted leaders to warn that relations with the United States have changed fundamentally, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney telling an audience in Davos, Switzerland in January that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.”
In an interview with several European papers published this week, French President Emmanuel Macron blasted what he called “threats and intimidation” from Washington and warned other EU leaders that transatlantic relations were unlikely to return to normal anytime soon.
During the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Vance was greeted with a smattering of boos and jeers. Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas explained the display by referring to “European pride” and “not-so-nice” words from the U.S. administration toward Europe.
“Last year, the public felt that the U.S. was an unreliable ally but a critical one, deterring their enemies despite being slightly unpredictable,” said Seb Wride, head of polling for Public First.
“But now, far from taking the transatlantic deterrence offered by the NATO alliance for granted, the European public hardly believe it exists — the main question for the leaders heading to MSC now is how the security it offered can be recreated without the U.S.”
Ahead of the high-stakes gathering in Munich, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a U.S. delegation, The POLITICO Poll further shows that a growing share of respondents in the surveyed countries do not feel the United States shares their values or protects democracy, a long-standing American tenet.
In France, just 17 percent of respondents agreed with the statement “the U.S. shares our values” versus 49 percent who disagreed. In Germany, 50 percent of respondents said the United States did not share their values, while just 18 percent said that Washington “protects democracy.”
As leaders gather this week, Trump is sure to loom large. In the event’s run-up, France’s Macron said that the Trump administration is being “openly anti-European.”
Still, while adults across the key NATO countries hold increasingly sour views of the U.S., they expressed some hope for the future. In Germany, France and the United Kingdom, pluralities said that Trump has weakened the relationship with their countries — but that it can recover after he is gone, according to the poll.



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