America’s Euro ‘Allies’ Only Ones Worried About Trump

The rest of the world is happy he won. At least that’s according to a recent global poll. A survey of more than 28,000 people from around the world shows that Europe is almost alone in mourning Donald Trump’s election victory with many actively positive about it.

The survey, carried out for the European Council on Foreign Relations and Oxford University’s “Europe in a Changing World” research project across 24 countries immediately after Trump’s November election victory, shows many countries feel relaxed about his return or even actively positive.

The U.S. was not counted in this particular poll question.

The findings reveal Europeans are almost alone in mourning Trump’s election win, with many people in other countries seeing a Trump-led U.S. as a “normal” great power among many in an “à la carte world” – a phrase meaning global power is increasingly unfolding in a more fluid and informal way, involving narrower coalitions of like-minded states and entities.

As Mark Leonard, the director of the European Council on Foreign Relations writes in Politico about their poll: “The very things that make the president-elect’s return so scary for many Europeans are what make him attractive to the rest of the world.

The last time Trump was elected, many in the U.S. and around the world took comfort in the idea that Europe would step into the breach. They declared then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel the true leader of the free world — a role immortalized in an iconic G7 photo where’s she’s flanked by the leaders of the world’s major democracies, looming over a sulking Trump. 

How times have changed.

Leonard adds:

Europe is panicking at the rhetoric surrounding “America First,” and the notion that the U.S. will cease to be an upholder of the global order in favor of pursuing its own selfish interests. But this is precisely what people — particularly those living in middle powers across the world — are impatient for. They no longer want the U.S. to be a self-appointed moral arbiter or global policeman. They’re much more comfortable dealing with it as the most powerful country in a more transactional world.

The vast majority of people around the world think Trump is, in fact, good for the U.S., and good for the world and global peace.

According to the poll’s data, three in five people in India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China and South Africa, believe Trump’s promise to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. One in two believe he will achieve peace in the Middle East.

In short, Trump’s return is lamented by America’s long-time allies but almost nobody else.

This can be more vividly shown by the number of foreign leaders who rushed to congratulate Trump on his victory.

But what does this poll say about Europe?

Leonard concludes:

Although Europeans themselves may take a dim view of their global standing in this new Trumpian era, the rest of the world has a higher appreciation of European power — the challenge is how exactly they go about using it. Our poll shows there’s no appetite for Europe to pose as the leader of the resistance against Trump, or to keep bossing about or lecturing other countries on how to pursue their affairs.

However, solid majorities around the world view the EU as a superpower that can hold its own alongside China and America and pursue its own interests. The real question is whether it can agree on what those interests are.

Maybe Europe should beef up its defenses, get a clue about the China threat and join the U.S. as partners and more equal allies instead of leeches or resisters.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

READ NEXT: Who Put A Trump Cabinet Nominee On The Terrorist Watchlist?