British, French, and German Voters See Trump as More ‘Strong and Decisive’ Than Their Own Leaders: Poll
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen as a stronger and more decisive leader than the heads of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany by their own citizens, a poll has found
The muscular stance that the second Trump administration has taken towards Europe on defence, trade, and Western liberties has seemingly elevated the American leader in the eyes of Europeans, many of whom now view President Trump as having a greater impact on their countries than their own leaders.
According to a survey conducted by the UK-based Public First polling firm on behalf of POLITICO, British, French and German citizens all rate the U.S. president as more “strong and decisive” than their own leadership by a significant margin.
The poll found that 74 per cent of Germans rated Trump as stronger than Chancellor Friedrich Merz, compared to 26 per cent who viewed him as stronger than Trump. Meanwhile, the American leader bested President Emmanuel Macron by a margin of 73 per cent to 27 per cent among French citizens, and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also trailed Trump by 69 to 31 per cent among British citizens.
The perception of how their respective leaders have fared so far in dealing with President Trump was similarly grim among Europeans. Among those polled in Germany, just 24 per cent said that Chancellor Merz has done a good job, compared to 34 per cent who rated his performance poorly.
The picture was even more stark for Macron, with a mere 16 per cent of his compatriots viewing his handling of Trump as positive compared to 39 per cent who were displeased with his stance towards Washington.
Despite his brazen attempts to cosy up to President Trump and his successful negotiation of preferential trade terms compared to his European counterparts, Prime Minister Starmer only slightly outperformed Merz, with UK opinion on his relations with Trump evenly split at 29 per cent positive and 29 per cent negative. --->READ MORE HERE
Trump dominates democracy in Europe, international POLITICO Poll shows:
Europeans share Trump’s view that their leaders are weak — at least compared with the U.S. president — and see him as more decisive.
Donald Trump says he wants to reshape politics in Europe. For many voters in major European democracies, it feels like he already has.
Trump’s return as U.S. president is far more significant for voters in Germany, France and the U.K. than the election of their own national leaders, according to respondents to the first international POLITICO Poll.
The finding vividly illustrates the impact of Trump’s first year back in the White House on global politics, with his sway felt particularly keenly in Europe.
The online survey, conducted by the independent London-based polling company Public First, also shows many Europeans share Trump’s critical assessment in a POLITICO interview earlier this week of the relative weakness of their own national leaders. The poll had more than 10,000 respondents from the U.S., Canada and the three biggest economies in Europe: Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
For leaders like Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, it makes particularly grim reading: They are seen by their own voters as having largely failed to handle the unpredictable American president effectively so far.
EU leaders fared worst of all. In France, only 11 percent thought Brussels had done a good job of handling Trump, with 47 percent saying EU leadership had navigated the relationship badly.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer gets a slightly better rating — his record on managing Trump is seen as neither good nor bad.
“These results show how much Trump has shaped the last year of political conversation not just in the U.S., but globally,” said Seb Wride, head of polling at Public First. “This is true for the public as much as it is for policymakers — the fact that so many believe Trump’s election, on the other side of the world, has been more significant for their own country than their own leaders’ election lays this bare.”
The polling comes at an acutely sensitive moment for transatlantic relations. A new White House National Security Strategy unveiled last week destroyed any notion of American neutrality toward its historic allies in Europe, instead launching a crusade to convert the region’s democracies to his own MAGA ideology.
POLITICO on Tuesday named Trump as the most powerful person shaping European politics, at the top of its annual P28 list. The list is not an endorsement or award. It reflects, instead, each individual’s capacity to shape Europe’s politics and policies in the year ahead, as assessed by the POLITICO newsroom and the power players POLITICO’s journalists speak with. --->READ MORE HERE
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