A Canadian friend (thanks, ROb!) pointed me to an article about what Canadians think of our situation, and this inspired me to look a little bit about our friends and neighbors around the world.
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| Ed Wexler |
Former Canada Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in his new book, "My Stories, My Times," considers the rise of TЯUMP to be the "end of the American Empire." He cites the protectionist policies are undoing the international prosperity that was fostered by the United States since WWII.
Here is Mr. Chrétien in his own voice. He says they laugh at us.
(apologies; I tried to embed a video of Chrétien, but it didn't display correctly. See the video here)
But we knew that alaready.
In the wake of the tariffs, the travel ban, the wall, the rejection (really reorganization) of NAFTA, the abolishment of the Iran nuclear deal, the pull-out from the Paris Agreement, the deep concerns about 45's relationship with Russia, and many other foreign policy issues, the United States' reputation is suffering around the world.
This report from the Pew Research Center just came out a few days ago. Here are nine charts about how the world sees the U.S. and its President*.
The short answer is: across the world, people still have favorable views of the U.S., and prefer the U.S. to be the leading power, but they have low confidence that TЯUMP will do the right thing.
This image is striking:
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| Pew Research |
Western Europeans particularly have a dim view of the United States' protections of personal freedoms.
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| Pew Research |
Looking at a few countries individually, here is a nice chartt by MSNBC. Pretty sobering.
Here's a nice summary article by Pew saying that the United States' image has been tarnished since the 2016 election. Internationally, there is pessimism about the U.S, though our friends prefer the U.S. to be the leading power.
Several months ago, about a year after the new administration took control, Gallup also conducted a poll about the world approval. Across the world, approval about the U.S. leadership hit record lows. The overall approval rating was at 30%, lower than the previous low record under Bush II, which was 34%. People in the Americas were least approving, at 24% approval rating.
And speaking of the Americas....
It was obvious early on that Mexico hated Señor Xenophobe when former Mexico President Vicente Fox published a series of YouTube videos calling him out. These were so scathing, at first I thought they were fake, but indeed, it's really Mr. Fox and it's really how he feels. They are funny, and they're brutal. Here is one. I'll let you look up the others.
And in Europe. Not such favorable opinions, either. This photo from the G7 summit, originally posted on Angela Merkel's Instagram, speaks for itself.
Prior to the Summit, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she "trusts" him. She may be the only one in the world! See her comments below.
But the citizens of Great Britain? They protested loudly when 45 made a visit across the pond over the summer. This balloon was launched. Angry Baby! Read more about it here.
And an artist created a crop circle on a farm in the English countryside to greet the visiting President*:
This recent article suggests that the once-chummy relationship between France's Emmanuel Macron and SCROTUS may be chilling. They had a meeting recently, and the one positive Macron was able to point to: "no new conflicts emerged."
I still love this episode of Handshake Wars with Emmanuel Macron:
And back to the Americas and our friends in Canada: the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has never had a good relationship with our Supreme Leader.
From Mr. Trudeau's own battle in Handshake Wars...
...To Trump's blasting Trudeau with a tweet after the G7:
...Canadians are not fond of TЯUMP.
Most countries' leaders have more tact and finesse than ours, so their words about him are subtle. The BBC put together a nice collection of quotes from various world leaders.
Here are a few:
Now, to be fair, there are some world leaders that love him. One, of course, is his bestie Putie. I've written about their love affair in an earlier post, To Russia with Love. And SCROTUS himself admitted that he and Kim Jong-Un are in love! ❤️❤️
In general, there is great concern around the world, as a CNN international diplomacy writer outlined earlier this year. This should concern each of us! The US is looked at like the grumpy old man across the street. Wouldn't we rather be the host of the block party rather than the ones who have flaming dog-doo left on the front stoop?
Luckily, we can reverse this world opinion. We can show the world that the citizens of the United States are also concerned, and we are going to change things. And the way we will show them is by flipping Congress in just over two weeks and by getting a Progressive back in the White House in 2020. Let's get this block party started!!
Resist! 🇺🇸 VOTE! 🇺🇸
Here's a nice summary article by Pew saying that the United States' image has been tarnished since the 2016 election. Internationally, there is pessimism about the U.S, though our friends prefer the U.S. to be the leading power.
Several months ago, about a year after the new administration took control, Gallup also conducted a poll about the world approval. Across the world, approval about the U.S. leadership hit record lows. The overall approval rating was at 30%, lower than the previous low record under Bush II, which was 34%. People in the Americas were least approving, at 24% approval rating.
And speaking of the Americas....
It was obvious early on that Mexico hated Señor Xenophobe when former Mexico President Vicente Fox published a series of YouTube videos calling him out. These were so scathing, at first I thought they were fake, but indeed, it's really Mr. Fox and it's really how he feels. They are funny, and they're brutal. Here is one. I'll let you look up the others.
And in Europe. Not such favorable opinions, either. This photo from the G7 summit, originally posted on Angela Merkel's Instagram, speaks for itself.
 |
| Angela Merkel's Instagram |
Prior to the Summit, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she "trusts" him. She may be the only one in the world! See her comments below.
But the citizens of Great Britain? They protested loudly when 45 made a visit across the pond over the summer. This balloon was launched. Angry Baby! Read more about it here.
 |
| Newsday.com |
And an artist created a crop circle on a farm in the English countryside to greet the visiting President*:
 |
| From The Bucks Herald. In Russian, it reads, "F*ck Trump" |
This recent article suggests that the once-chummy relationship between France's Emmanuel Macron and SCROTUS may be chilling. They had a meeting recently, and the one positive Macron was able to point to: "no new conflicts emerged."
I still love this episode of Handshake Wars with Emmanuel Macron:
And back to the Americas and our friends in Canada: the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has never had a good relationship with our Supreme Leader.
From Mr. Trudeau's own battle in Handshake Wars...
...To Trump's blasting Trudeau with a tweet after the G7:
PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
...Canadians are not fond of TЯUMP.
Most countries' leaders have more tact and finesse than ours, so their words about him are subtle. The BBC put together a nice collection of quotes from various world leaders.
Here are a few:
Argentina, President Mauricio Macri
On his former business partner, during the election:
Trump is a "totally crackpot presidential candidate," Mr Macri said (in Spanish). "Facilitate the election of Hilary [Clinton]
EU, Donald Tusk
In an open letter to EU leaders, criticising Mr Trump:
"Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy."
Indonesia, President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi
On trade negotiations:
Jokowi is a fan of "mutually beneficial cooperation" with the United States, and wants Mr Trump "to continue to work together to build peace and create prosperity for the world."
Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
At the White house, ahead of a round of golf:
Mr Trump is an "excellent businessman", adding "my golf is not as good as Donald's, but my policy is: never give in.
"Never resort to the short cuts... I hope to discuss with Donald the future of the world."
Along with another awkward handshake.
In general, there is great concern around the world, as a CNN international diplomacy writer outlined earlier this year. This should concern each of us! The US is looked at like the grumpy old man across the street. Wouldn't we rather be the host of the block party rather than the ones who have flaming dog-doo left on the front stoop?
Luckily, we can reverse this world opinion. We can show the world that the citizens of the United States are also concerned, and we are going to change things. And the way we will show them is by flipping Congress in just over two weeks and by getting a Progressive back in the White House in 2020. Let's get this block party started!!
Resist! 🇺🇸 VOTE! 🇺🇸
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