New polling data from Europe shows that large majorities among key U.S. allies hold a positive view of President-elect Joe Biden, suggesting a significant shift in European perceptions of the U.S. presidency as Trump’s term comes to a close.
But polling data also suggests some potentially troubling trends for transatlantic relations after four years of strained partnership, with indications that European publics believe Chinese power has grown over that of the United States under Trump.
Biden, who is set to be inaugurated as president Wednesday, is expected to “do the right thing regarding world affairs” by 79 percent of Germans, 72 percent of the French and 65 percent of Britons, according to polling conducted by the Pew Research Center late last year and published Tuesday.
The high ratings for Biden in Western Europe’s largest countries form a stark contrast to those for his predecessor: Pew found that levels of confidence in Trump in Germany, France and Britain were just 10 percent, 11 percent and 19 percent respectively.
These views of Trump were recorded over the summer, and they may not reflect the departing president’s refusal to accept the results of the November election or this month’s violence at the U.S. Capitol. Trump’s domestic approval ratings have dropped during his final weeks in office, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Despite Trump’s ancestral history in Germany and Britain, as well as his avowed fondness for France, polls suggest that the Republican president has seen low popularity in all three countries throughout his time in office, along with a deepening skepticism of American power amid the coronavirus pandemic.
