The Trust Collapse: The World Turns on Trump

Trump continues to declare victory after losing the war in Iran. He is playing out a modern version of The Emperor’s New Clothes, parading naked while boasting of fine garments. But in this real-life fable, more than one child see through the illusion, as over 70% of the global population has called his bluff.

The US Pew Research Center surveyed 42,000 people across 36 countries and regions between February and mid-May this year. The sweeping poll reveals a stark reality: 57% of respondents hold no favorable view of the US, and over 70% condemn the American attack on Iran.

A global poll across 36 nations reveals nearly 60% hold no favorable view of the US, and over half deem America untrustworthy. Canadians showed the sharpest spike in distrust, pictured here staging an anti-US demonstration.

This collapse in goodwill stems directly from Trump's knack for alienating people. A staggering 76% of respondents have "no confidence" in him, with many of those critics hailing from allied G7 nations. A recent commentary in Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao outlined four primary reasons for this massive erosion of global support. Chief among them is Trump’s own inferior character, a flaw that has dragged down America’s national standing on the world stage.

Donald Trump is the prime culprit behind America's crashing global support, with a staggering 76% of respondents branding him untrustworthy.

The survey captured a world reacting to Trump's frenzied military assault on Iran. Iran fiercely counterattacked by completely shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, choking off vital shipments of oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals. The disruption plunged numerous countries into crisis, leaving billions of people to suffer the bitter consequences.

Under these dire conditions, skyrocketing international distrust and resentment naturally turned the US into a universal pariah.

A Global Crisis of Confidence

Digging into the data reveals the sheer scale of the damage. Fully 57% of the over 40,000 respondents reported holding no favorable view of the United States. Citizens across Canada, France, Germany, and South Korea proved especially critical of American leadership. In these allied nations, the proportion of people maintaining a favorable opinion of the US plummeted to fresh lows.

America can now claim majority favorability in just 8 nations. Unsurprisingly, this small fraction includes ironclad partners like Israel and the Philippines, but they remain a tiny minority within the 36 countries surveyed. Consider the situation in Japan, a nation that prides itself on being a close US ally. The share of Japanese citizens holding a favorable view dropped by 5 percentage points from last year, barely scraping the 50% mark. This figure now mirrors the percentage holding an unfavorable view, signaling a steady erosion of Japanese fondness for America.

Public trust in Trump proved even more dismal, generating entirely one-sided results. A massive 76% of respondents expressed distrust in his handling of international affairs, compared to a mere 23% who still trust him. The reality is that over 70% of citizens in allied G7 nations now fundamentally distrust the US president. Labeling Trump as untrustworthy has hardened into a global consensus that bridges the divide between friends and foes alike.

This profound distrust in Trump has directly infected America's own credibility. The poll results highlight a significant decline in the number of Europeans, Canadians, and Japanese who still consider the US trustworthy. Canada experienced a particularly brutal collapse, plummeting from a robust 83% to a mere 35%. Japan similarly saw its trust in the US fall by a steep 17 percentage points.

Global public opinion is overwhelmingly clear on the prospect of an American war with Iran. The survey shows that a decisive 73% of respondents firmly disapprove of the US attacking the Middle Eastern nation. Furthermore, 63% concluded that the US has made absolutely no contribution to world peace and stability.

Four Pillars of Global Backlash

Why has the global public turned so fiercely against the US? The answer to Trump’s bankrupt credibility lies in four distinct failures. Peter Ong, Editorial Consultant for Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, pointed out four major reasons driving this global backlash.

First, the US launching this war has inflicted immense suffering on people worldwide. Asia relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil and will become the hardest-hit disaster zone, pushing hundreds of millions toward poverty. If this economic catastrophe unfolds, Trump will stand as the primary culprit, ensuring the US remains widely despised.

Second, American leaders have actively committed war crimes. They flagrantly ignored both international human rights law and humanitarian law after initiating the conflict. The heinous act of firing missiles at an Iranian school, which tragically killed 170 teachers and students, stands as a horrifying testament to this brutality.

Third, America's circle of international friends has drastically shrunk, leaving Washington isolated on the global stage. This unnecessary war has forced European allies to suffer collectively alongside the US. Gulf countries have even drawn fire upon themselves, suffering destructive bombings and severe economic damage that bred intense resentment and frustration.

Fourth, Trump's deeply inferior personal qualities have systematically degraded America's national character. His defining traits of arrogance, capriciousness, loose lips, nepotism, and completely unprofessional decision-making have dragged the nation's reputation into the mud.

This analysis is spot on. America’s loss of global support is the direct, undeniable consequence of Trump's arrogant madness. Ironically, the very helmsman promising to "Make America Great Again" has become the nation's ultimate saboteur. Yet for China, this spectacular American failure has delivered an unexpected windfall, driving a noticeable surge in favorable views toward Beijing from global citizens.

Consider the shifting tides in Australia as a prime example. A recent poll shows that 51% of the Australian public now believes Sino-Australian relations hold more importance than US-Australian relations. This crucial metric has surged by 8 percentage points compared to just last year in 2025.

We got to thank Trump for this geopolitical gift.

Lai Ting-yiu

What Say You?

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

Washington is making enemies on all fronts and even alienating its own allies. Logically, the United States needs a strong intelligence apparatus right now. But Trump is taking the exact opposite approach. He has dispatched his loyal enforcer, Pulte, to execute a sweeping purge of the intelligence community.

The bloodletting is sending shockwaves through the ranks. It started at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Now it is spreading to the 18 agencies beneath it. The CIA has long harbored deep tensions with Trump and is unlikely to be spared.

Acting DNI Pulte is Trump's ruthless enforcer. Taking office this week, he instantly launched a sweeping intelligence purge to cut down the president's enemies.

Several members of Congress wrote to Pulte to demand an immediate halt. They warned this political purge will erode America's intelligence capabilities. But those warnings fall on deaf ears. Pulte answers to only one master, making a massacre all but certain.

Pulte is wasting no time sharpening his blade. CNN reports that he officially began work on Monday, a full day ahead of schedule. He immediately convened closed-door meetings with lawyers and aides. After securing a complete roster of ODNI employees, he started cutting. The first casualties were the politically appointed loyalists of former Director Gabbard. By Tuesday, multiple staffers were already leaving the office with boxes in their hands. More dismissals are sure to follow.

Gabbard was originally a "Barbie-type" senior official hand-picked by Trump himself. But she fell out of favor after clashing with her boss over the Iran strikes and internal restructuring. She resigned last month citing her husband's illness.

The reality is she was pushed out. Trump swiftly installed Pulte as the acting DNI for a 210-day term. Pulte previously served as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. This diehard loyalist was brought in for nothing but one obvious reason: to serve as the president's personal enforcer and bring about a massive purge.
The ODNI plays a role of enormous consequence in Washington. The agency serves as the president's intelligence adviser and briefs him on the most sensitive classified information. It coordinates all 18 intelligence agencies under its umbrella and oversees a staggering budget of nearly $100 billion.

Yet, Trump has always harbored deep suspicions about this apparatus. Since taking office, he has suspected that holdovers from the previous administration remain embedded within various agencies. He views these officials as fundamentally disloyal. Rooting them out is Pulte's primary mandate.

True to form, Pulte began slashing before his seat was even warm. CNN indicates he will quickly pivot his attention to the National Counterterrorism Center and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. He ordered those bodies to submit personnel files on Monday. They are already compiling lists of employees earmarked for dismissal.
Trump sees these agencies as riddled with subversives. Recent events have only reinforced his suspicions. The United States launched military action against Iran in mid-March. Shortly after, National Counterterrorism Center Director Kent abruptly announced his resignation. He released an open letter stating he could not support the war against Iran in good conscience. He further alleged that Israel had pressured the president into the conflict.

Such remarks sent Trump into a furious rage. He is now more driven than ever: thorough cleansing of the intelligence community is clearly long overdue.

Trump's distrust of the CIA runs just as deep and stems from long-standing grievances. A group of CIA officers participated in intelligence assessments related to the "Russia collusion" investigation back in 2016. The president brands these individuals as "deep state" operatives actively working against him.

Some of those officials remain at the agency to this day. They are prime targets in this new purge. It is only a matter of time before Pulte sets his sights on Langley.

Trump and the CIA share a bitter history. The agency is now firmly in Pulte's crosshairs.

Make no mistake: Trump is openly embracing accusations of a political purge. He spoke to the Wall Street Journal just two days ago and described the ODNI as bloated and unnecessary. He boldly declared he wants to see the agency get smaller, adding that many people there simply do not belong.

The president expects Pulte to execute this process immediately. He insists that whoever is eventually nominated to the permanent post must carry on the ruthless work. He views a massive "housecleaning" before a new director arrives as a profoundly good thing. Trump argues there are simply too many intelligence personnel, and he openly welcomes deep personnel cuts.
America's military vulnerabilities were already laid bare by its recent campaign against Iran. Now Trump is gutting the very intelligence services the nation depends on to survive. He is effectively severing his own limbs in a desperate drive to excise the "deep state."

At this destructive rate, the United States will inevitably be exposed as nothing more than a paper tiger.

Lai Ting-yiu