Associated Press:
A Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday found that people in 34 countries around the world have more confidence in President Joe Biden than his rival in November's presidential election, former President Donald Trump, despite growing skepticism about whether U.S. democracy is a good model for the rest of the world.
On average, 43% of people across the countries surveyed said they trusted Biden to get the world situation right, compared with 28% for Trump. Biden is viewed more favorably than Trump in 24 countries, while Trump leads in Hungary and Tunisia and the two are virtually tied in eight other countries.
The growing confidence in Biden comes as confidence in American democracy is waning: A median of 54% of respondents across the 34 countries have a positive view of the United States, but a median of four in 10 across the countries surveyed told pollsters that American democracy was once a good example for other countries to emulate, but is no longer.
A median of 21% say U.S. democracy remains a good example for other countries, while a similar number, 22%, say it has never been that way. Since spring 2021, the only other time Pew Research asked this question, the share of people who think U.S. democracy is a good example has fallen in eight countries, mostly in Europe.
“People don't think the U.S. political system is working well,” said Richard Weick, director of international opinion polls at the Pew Research Center. “They see the country as divided along partisan lines.”
The global gap between Trump and Biden is much smaller. Confidence in the current president to do the right thing in world affairs has declined since his first year in office, but it still far exceeds that of his rival, Trump, who received a relatively low global rating throughout his presidency. Biden's lowest level of trust is in his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, with a median of 57% saying they don't trust him.
A median of 39% of people in the countries surveyed approved of Biden's handling of the Ukraine war, with European countries showing the highest approval rating, while about four in 10 people were confident in his handling of the China issue.
Of the five leaders rated in the survey, French President Emmanuel Macron received the highest level of trust, slightly ahead of Biden, while Russian President Vladimir Putin received the lowest level of trust.
Biden's approval rating has fallen in countries ranging from South Africa to Israel to the U.K., but he remains steadily higher than Trump's. Biden's approval rating was lowest in Europe and Latin America, where more than eight in 10 adults in France, Germany and Sweden distrust him.
Wike said Africa tends to have a favorable view of the US president, but Trump had the highest approval rating. Even in the two countries where Trump was more trusted than Biden, Trump's approval rating was lower. In Tunisia, for example, Biden had a low approval rating of just 17%.
