New polling data from the Pew Research Center shows that U.S. President Joe Biden has received more positive ratings globally than former President Donald Trump.
Conducted from January 5 to May 21, a survey of 40,566 people in 34 countries — not including the United States — showed a 43% median in confidence that Biden would “do the right thing in the world,” compared to 28% for Trump.
While people surveyed were more confident in Biden than in Trump in 24 countries, the former president took the lead in Hungary and Tunisia, while there was no significant difference in the remaining eight countries. Both men received some of their highest confidence ratings in the Philippines, with Biden scoring 77%, and Trump scoring 68%.
Yet Biden’s ratings have deteriorated since last year. Fourteen of 21 countries gave Biden a lower confidence rating this year, compared to 2023.
Some of his most negative reviews involved the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The 34 countries produced a median disapproval rate of 57% on Biden’s handling of the war. According to Pew, the survey was conducted before Biden announced his proposal to end the war.
The data also show men were more likely than women to express confidence in Trump across several of the surveyed countries. But, the report noted, “Women are often less likely than men to answer this question at all.”
The downward trend for both political figures appears to be in keeping with declining confidence in the U.S. as an exemplary democracy.
Across all the countries surveyed, about four in 10 respondents believe that, while the U.S. was once an example of democracy globally, it is no longer the case, the report says.
