Europeans more fearful than others of second Trump US presidency, says poll

euronews (in English)

Citizens in traditional US ally countries such as the United Kingdom, South Korea, and EU member states express greater doubts about the future of a Trump administration compared to the rest of the world, according to a new global survey.

Transcript

00:00The European Union and the United Kingdom are the most sceptical about Donald Trump's

00:11return to the White House as US president, according to a study conducted by the European

00:17Council on Foreign Relations over 24 countries. The historical European allies' scepticism

00:24contrasts with the more positive opinion emerging elsewhere in the world. But historian

00:30Timothy Garton explains why Europe is wary.

00:34What do we have in common? We're both US allies who depend on the US for our security. So

00:40that's a very telling and dramatic finding. You know, we already face a world of transactional

00:47great powers, Russia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa. And you know what? With Donald

00:53Trump, we see the United States, for the first time since 1945, again becoming a kind of

01:02transactional great power. That's why countries like China or Russia or India are quite relaxed

01:09about it, and we're definitely not.

01:12For the historian, one of Europe's main challenges will be presenting a united front to the next

01:19US president, but also to the entire international stage in order to influence geopolitical decisions.

01:26According to the survey, the EU is considered by many citizens to be on par with the United

01:31States and China.

01:34We ask the question whether the EU can deal as an equal with the US and China. I expected

01:41most of the world to be sceptical. Actually, the world has quite a positive view. Majorities

01:46or pluralities say yes. So in a way, we Europeans don't have enough confidence in our own power.

01:56But of course, it's potential power. We have to make it actual.

02:01The authors of the report say that the differences in how the US and Europe are seen show that

02:08the West is no longer a single, united geopolitical force. However, it is still the strongest

02:14international military alliance, according to the historian.

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