Washington: Australians have the most unfavorable view of the US and Donald Trump in the world, a survey has found, with just 18 per cent saying they trust the US president to do the right thing on international issues.
A Pew Research Center survey of more than 42,000 people in 36 countries found that much of the world now has an unfavorable view of the United States, with half feeling Washington is not a reliable ally, and less than a quarter trusting Trump.
It comes as slurs and foul-mouthed conversations between Australian and American soccer fans have repeatedly sparked open hostility during the World Cup, sparking debate on social media about Australians’ views of the United States.
The survey found 76 per cent of Australians had an unfavorable view of the world’s most powerful nation – significantly more than the UK (58 per cent), Canada (66), Japan (50), Spain (67) and France (70).
Only Sweden, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey and the West Bank/East Jerusalem (polled differently by the Pew Research Center) had more unfavorable views. The US was most popular in Israel (where 81 percent have a positive opinion), Ghana (68), Nigeria and Kenya (63 each).
In Australia, the number of people who rated the US as a reliable partner fell to 37 percent, down from 79 percent in 2022 when Joe Biden was president, mirroring trends in many other countries.
“This downward trend has occurred in several countries with which the United States has long-standing economic and security ties,” the researchers noted, citing Canada as an example. “Significant declines have also been measured in some of America’s key Asia-Pacific partners.”
Australians also hold some of the most unfavorable views of Trump himself, with 82 percent saying they don’t trust him to do the right thing on world affairs. That’s about the same as Canada, Thailand, Italy, Germany and France.
Chinese President Xi Jinping won the trust of Australians more than Trump, with 23 percent saying they trust him to do the right thing, compared to 18 percent for Trump. Xi was more trusted than Trump in most of the countries surveyed, often by greater degrees than in Australia.
In 36 countries, there was little support for Trump’s handling of major foreign policy issues. About three-quarters of respondents disapproved of his handling of Iran, tariffs and the Gaza conflict, as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine.
International research was taken between February and May 2026meaning that negative views against Trump were recorded at the same time as sustained views increased support for Pauline HansonOne Nation. In each country, most or all of the interviews were conducted after the initiation of the Iran war on February 28, the researchers said. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center has surveyed attitudes toward the United States for more than two decades.
The results came as Australia’s The Lowy Institute was also discovered declining sentiment toward the United States in its annual poll. Trust in sovereign nations fell to 31 percent, just 3 percent ahead of China.
But almost three-quarters of Australians still rated the US alliance as “very important” or “extremely important” to national security, Lowy’s poll was found.
Despite recent World Cup tourism, few Australians are traveling to the US for leisure. Arrivals fell by another 9.2 percent in the first five months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, which had already declined from 2024. That was driven entirely by a 10.7 percent drop in tourism visas; business visas rose slightly, and student visas rose nearly 5 percent.
This reflected a worldwide trend. Tourist visas issued to Italians fell 12.6 percent in the five months to May, France fell 12.7 percent, Germany 16.4 percent and the United Kingdom 3 percent, according to preliminary US Commerce Department data.
Visitors from Denmark – whose Greenland territory is clearly coveted by Trump for US “national security” purposes – are set to drop by 30 percent from 2025.
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Michael Koziol is the North American correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, deputy editor of the Sun-Herald and federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect through X or email address.
