Poll finds Trump rated lowest among key leaders

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump has the lowest approval rating of five prominent world leaders, according to a recently released poll.

Roughly 70 percent of those polled across 25 nations said they lacked confidence in Trump, who received the most negative ratings by far compared with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The data, released Monday by the Pew Research Center, shows Trump along with Xi and Putin being viewed mostly with distrust.

But the 70 percent of those who expressed no confidence in Trump is the highest among the group, followed by Putin at 62 percent and Xi at 56 percent. France's Macron and Germany's Merkel received relatively high levels of confidence from those polled at 52 and 46 percent respectively.

Since assuming office in early 2017, Trump has pursued a nationalist America First foreign policy that has led many to question his commitment to the international community and historically close alliances.

Trump received markedly low numbers in Europe particularly, with just 7 percent confidence in Spain, 9 percent in France, 10 percent in Germany and 28 percent in the United Kingdom. But Trump did receive support from Europe's right-wing populist parties, including the Alternative for Germany and the UK Independence Party.

One country where Trump continued to receive mass support is Israel, where confidence has increased sharply since 2017. Confidence in Trump rose from 56 percent that year to 69 percent in the most recent poll.

Trump has pursued a number of actions that are widely perceived to be pro-Israel, including moving the U.S. embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem and cutting U.S. funding for the Palestinians and a vital UN agency that provides critical services to the Palestinian diaspora in an effort to force them to return to U.S.-mediated peace talks.

Palestinians remain adamant that the U.S. under Trump forfeited its role as a mediator due to its decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.