Hungarians love America but not Donald Trump

Valasz.hu reports that the reputation of the United States has significantly declined since the Inauguration of Donald Trump. This fact is based on the data provided by a new Pew Research Center survey spanning 37 nations.

At the end of the presidency of Barack Obama, 64 per cent of the asked nations trusted the American president, while this rate is only 22 per cent in the case of Donald Trump. The distrust is especially high among America’s allies as well as in Mexico and Canada. Only 5 per cent of the Mexicans, 7 per cent of the Spaniards, 10 per cent of the Swedes and 11 per cent of the Germans have trust in Trump. Hungary is located in the middle of the ranking – 29 per cent of the Hungarians have trust in Trump, while 58 per cent in Obama. The balace is in the new president’s favour compared to Obama in only two countries: it is 56:49 in Israel and 53:11 in Russia, Trump having the higher percentage in both cases.

Regarding the leaders of the world, most people trust Angela Merkel (42%). She is followed by the Chinese president Xi Jinping (28%), Vladimir Putin (27%) and Trump (22%).

Trump’s policy regarding foreign affairs is generally condemned. 49 per cent of the Hungarians are opposed to, while 35 per cent support the wall in the Mexican border. However, 75 per cent condemn quitting the Paris Climate Agreement. An additional 63 per cent disapprove of Trump disregarding commercial agreements. Hungary is the only country in the survey that supports the United States in a great number (70%) to restrict the entry from certain Muslim countries, though Israel, Poland and Russia support it as well.

This judgement is not better regarding Trump’s personality either. In general, 75 per cent of the asked people think he is arrogant, 62 per cent consider him dangerous, 55 per cent believe he is a strong leader, while only 23 per cent reckon he cares about ordinary people.

While the reputation of America has declined in the world (62 per cent of the Germans and 52 per cent of the French have a high opinion of the United States), it is still popular in Poland (73%) and Hungary (63%). Regarding age, 77 per cent of the Hungarians between 18-29 have a good opinion of America, while this rate is 65 among Hungarians aged 30-49 and 56 per cent in the case of Hungarians older than 50. However, regarding ideological division, 73 per cent of the Right and 56 per cent of the Left sympathize with the United States. At the end of Obama’s presidency, 62 per cent of the Hungarians liked America, while this percentage grew to 63 after the Inauguration of Donald Trump.

65 per cent of the Hungarians sympathize with American people. 47 per cent like the American customs – this rate is 63 in the case of people aged 18-29. Hungarians agree with the American democracy in 52 per cent, while 75 per cent like American music, movies and television.

Ce: bm

Source: valasz.hu, pewglobal.org