VOA慢速英语--全球研究称对美国的领导力缺乏信心

Global Study Finds Lack of Confidence in US Leadership

A new study by Gallup shows fewer people believe in American leadership around the world. With only 31 percent approval, the United States' rating is lower than Germany and China -- and in a tie with Russia.

It shows international views of American leadership remained about the same in the second year of Donald Trump¹’s presidency². It dropped 18 points during Trump’s first year.

Gallup has been carrying out the research since 2007. The 2018 study was released Thursday. It examined the answers of people from 133 countries.

The report suggests that people around the world no longer believe in America’s international commitments. It says “the unpredictability of the U.S. president in now somewhat expected.”

Both China and Russia gained in the new study. China’s median approval rating rose to 34 percent and Russia’s rating reached 30 percent. Russia and China’s approval ratings increased in nations where the U.S. decreased, including Mexico and Turkey.

Germany received the highest median approval rating, at 39 percent. But it was Germany’s first rating below 40 percent in ten years.

Jon Clifton is Gallup’s Global Managing Partner. He said in the report that Trump’s “America First” policy was not winning friends around the world. It also said that Trump has taken many unpopular decisions since he took office. These include pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership³ trade agreement, the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal. It also includes Trump’s trade wars with Europe and China.

Clifton said that the effects of Trump’s actions will hurt American interests abroad. He pointed⁴ to research from Dartmouth College and the University of Sydney that found “public opinion about U.S. foreign policy in foreign countries does affect their policies toward the U.S.”

In Europe

The report said the U.S.'s leadership image is very poor in Europe. Its disapproval⁵ rating was 59 percent, up three points from 2017.

While Europeans’ view of American leadership was low, their view of Russian leadership was even lower, at 21 percent. They equally disliked the leadership of Russia and the United States. Nearly six in 10 Europeans disapproved⁶ of the leadership of the two countries.

Europeans had the highest rating for Germany’s leadership, with 56 percent approving.

In the Americas

The U.S. leadership rating increased in the Americas from 24 percent to 31 percent. Last year, the U.S. renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. Those two countries had two of the highest disapproval numbers for American leadership. Seventy-nine percent of Canadians and 74 percent of Mexicans disapproved of U.S. leadership in 2018.

The approval numbers for the U.S., Germany, China and Russia, were roughly the same in the Americas. But the disapproval rating for the United States at 53 percent was much higher than the other countries.

In Asia

In Asia, the approval of U.S. leadership increased slightly since last year, but it was still very low at 32 percent. The majorities of just five countries, Israel, the Philippines, Mongolia, Nepal and Myanmar, approved of American leadership.

Gallup said the two things that probably hurt the U.S. image most in the region were the trade war with China and the withdrawal⁷ from the Iran nuclear deal.

China’s approval rating was only a little higher at 34 percent. Russia came in at 32 and Germany at 36.

In Africa

American image was strongest in Africa, the Gallup study said. More than half of Africans in the study viewed American leadership favorably.

The countries with the most favorable view of the leadership of the United States were Togo, Guinea, Niger and Ghana. Africans also had a favorable view of China, which has invested heavily in the continent.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

median – adj. the middle value in a series of values arranged from smallest to largest

accord - n. an agreement

favorably - adv. with approval

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

6 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。