Large majorities in six nations express antipathy to Trump’s US and support European self-assertion
Western Europeans prize Europe’s autonomy and values over transatlantic ties and will not give them up to placate Donald Trump, according to a poll suggesting opinions of the US have plunged to their lowest since YouGov began tracking them a decade ago.
The US president’s attempted Greenland grab has succeeded in turning Europeans solidly against his country, the pollster’s latest survey found. Large majorities in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain all declared an unfavourable opinion.
The figures, ranging from 62% in France to 84% in Denmark – of which Greenland is a self-governing territory – mark a further steep rise in negative perceptions of the US even since November, when the range was between 49% and 70%.
That’s going to be a long period of untangling and retracting. But the goal for now isn’t too disentangle completely. It’s not a hot conflict yet. It’s to get enough manoeuvering space and alternatives in place that if the USA threatens, they can’t threaten critical things and shifting to other suppliers is easily done.