Poll: Israelis See Trump More Positively Than Almost Anyone Else

U.S. President Donald Trump is not well-liked outside the United States, both by allies and non-allies of the U.S., a Pew poll shows – with Israel being almost a unique exception.

According to the poll, 69 percent of Israelis believe that Trump is doing a great job as President. The average positive rating given to Trump among residents of the 25 countries the Pew poll includes was 27 percent, with 70 percent saying they had “no confidence” in the president.

Israelis are also very positive about the U.S. in general; 83 percent of Israelis see the U.S. in a positive light overall. Along with residents of the Philippines, 83 percent of whom also see America in a positive light, Israelis had the highest level of pro-American sentiment of residents of any other country.

And 86 percent of Israelis also say that when making international policy decisions, the U.S. takes into account their interests.

Israelis have traditionally had a positive view of the U.S. – even during the days of the Obama administration, when the president was viewed less positively.

In 2011, 72 percent saw the U.S. positively, but only 49 percent expressed confidence in the leadership capabilities of President Obama. The high level of support for President Trump is a significant rebound – but even support for Trump is far behind the 83 percent of confidence expressed by Israelis for President George W. Bush in 2003, for his leadership during the 9/11 crisis. By the time Bush left office in 2008, however, only 57 percent of Israelis expressed confidence in him.

Overall, 27 percent of residents of the 25 countries polled by Pew – which included Canada, Russia, most of Western Europe, several African countries, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Tunisia and Israel – saw President Trump in a positive light, while 70 percent saw him negatively.

Russian President Vladimir Putin fared almost as badly, with 30 percent of respondents seeing him positively, and 62 percent negatively. The most popular international leader is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom 52 percent saw in a positive light.