Following Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory last fall, the U.S. is no longer viewed by the rest of the world as one of the top five best countries, according to a survey from U.S News and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, which the president attended.
After being previously ranked the fourth best country in the world, the United States has tumbled three spots to number seven, behind Switzerland, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Sweden.
According to the report, “More than 70 percent of survey respondents lost respect for U.S. leadership as a result of the toxic nature of the U.S. election,” with many respondents expressing “distaste for Donald Trump.”
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If the election had been global, about 60 percent of people would have backed Hillary Clinton, according to the survey of more than 21,000 people from 36 countries in all regions of the world. Support for Donald Trump was lowest in Mexico, where only 4.6 percent of people supported Trump, and South Korea, where only 8.6 percent of people backed the president. His approval ratings were also low in European countries like France, Germany, Norway and Denmark.
To many people outside the U.S., the election of Donald Trump represents an unpredictable and dangerous move in U.S. foreign policy, says Jacob Parakilas with the British think tank Chatham House.
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The U.S. election may have had many ramifications for the U.S. brand. Aside from the overall ranking, the U.S. fell among the Best Countries for Adventure, Open for Business and Citizenship, where its scores decreased the most. The country’s performance also dropped in the Best Countries for Education, the Most Transparent Countries and the Best Countries to Headquarter a Corporation.
While Donald Trump campaigned on the idea that former President Barack Obama has weakened America’s image abroad and no other countries respect us anymore, it’s quickly becoming apparent that the rest of the world is missing Obama and still wishing that Hillary Clinton’s popular-vote win last fall translated to an electoral victory.
Instead, we got Trump, who has spent his short time in office emboldening our enemies and alienating our allies – all while leading what is already shaping up to be the most incompetent and corrupt administration in recent memory.
It’s disappointing that the new president has already hurt our reputation abroad, but it’s not surprising.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
