A recent Pew Research survey revealed that 77 percent of people polled across 16 nations around the world, express more confidence in Angela Merkel’s leadership than in Joe Biden’s. Biden came in second, with 74 percent, and French President Emmanuel Macron came in third, with 63 percent placing their trust I him.
Medians of only around one-in-five express confidence in Putin or Xi. Singapore and Greece are the only countries where more than half trust either president; 55% in both Greece and Singapore say they have confidence in Putin, and 70% in Singapore say the same of Xi.
Biden’s approval is high in places like Sweden, France, and Spain, Merkel’s approval is even higher. Both leaders are tied for approval in the United Kingdom. Of the 16 publics surveyed, Greece is the only one where fewer than half hold this view.
However, Biden is far more popular in Europe than former President Trump.
Through Trump’s Presidency, the European press mocked him and ridiculed him, and many Europeans found Trump to be arrogant and dangerous, while less than 20 percent believe the same about Biden.
The former President did not seem to care about approval from European nations, and famously scorned at approval from foreign European countries.
“When they say I’m not popular in Europe, I shouldn’t be popular in Europe,” Trump said in 2019. “If I was popular in Europe I would not be doing my job.”
Biden and Trump are viewed the most similarly when it comes to perceptions of them as strong leaders. In 2017, relatively large shares saw Trump as a strong leader, even in countries where few had confidence in him to do the right thing in world affairs. In countries where data is available for both leaders, more people tend to see Biden as a strong leader, but in several countries, the difference is comparatively small.
