U.S. President Donald Trump’s popularity in the U.S. continues to plummet. On June 11, his disapproval rating in a Gallup tracking poll went down to 59 percent for the second time. Outside the U.S., he is also disliked by Australians, while the Queen excluded his state visit in her Wednesday speech.
The Wall Street Journal reported the result of a national study by the Lowly Institute, an influential foreign-policy think tank, of the attitudes of Australians toward the U.S. and Trump. Only 29 percent of the respondents said Australia must keep some distance from the U.S., but 60 percent of Aussies said Trump made them have an unfavorable opinion of the U.S.
Annual survey
The Lowly Institute conducts the survey yearly. One observation made by the Institute is the sharp decline among Australians of their trust in the U.S. since the real estate billionaire won the election unexpectedly in November. Only 61 percent of the Australian respondents said they trust the United States will act responsibly in the world.
Based on the first few months of the Trump governance, it seems the Australians were not impressed with his performance since the 61 percent rating is down by 22 percent compared to the 83 percent rating Aussies gave President Barack Obama in 2011 when he addressed the Australian Parliament. Given the early conflict between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refugee agreement signed during the Obama presidency, the lower rating is expected.
As a result, Australians are studying their options if Canberra should reduce its alignment with Washington and tilt the country’s diplomatic policy and security toward China. Beijing, after all, enjoys a rapid rise and has challenged the primacy of the U.S. in the region.
Is Trump not going to London to visit the Queen?
It seems Trump’s very public Twitter war with London Mayor Sadiq Kahn had caused the cancellation, or postponement of his state visit to the UK for two years.
The Telegraph reported the Queen’s speech on Wednesday mentioned she would welcome King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain in July.
Besides his cyber war with Kahn, many Britons plan to mount large-scale protests against a Trump state visit that the monarch appears to have weighed the political risks of aligning with the American president. To save face for both London and Washington, Downing Street clarified the invitation for Trump to visit is still there, but no date has been set.
