A yr of Donald Trump: British individuals’s belief within the US has collapsed since he was elected
A year on from Donald Trump’s shock victory, most people in Britain now say they don’t trust the US – a massive drop from last November
British people’s trust in the United States has collapsed in the year since Donald Trump took office, new research has found. Most people (56%) now say they don’t trust the US, compared to just two in five (40%) in the weeks following Trump’s re-election in November 2024,
Just one in five Brits now say they trust Trump’s America, down from a third last November – after a year in which Trump was a reluctant ally against Russia and even a “trade deal” with the UK left us worse off than a year ago. The findings come in a report to be published on Wednesday – the first anniversary of Trump’s return to the Oval Office. But after just nine months back in power, the EU is now seen as Britain’s most reliable partner, according to the YouGov poll, commissioned by the campaign group Best for Britain. Sir Kim Darroch, the former British Ambassador to the United States, said Trump’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine had been “deeply inconsistent.” He has at times threatened stronger sanctions on Putin’s Russia; but at other times appeared to blame Ukraine and pressed them to capitulate. He has been similarly inconsistent on the US commitment to NATO and the principle of collective defence. “All of this makes it crucial and urgent that the Government accelerates work on the reset with the EU and especially the proposed Security and Defence Partnership.”
Naomi Smith, Chief Executive of Best for Britain, which campaigns for closer UK-EU ties, said: “British people are wide awake to the risk Donald Trump’s authoritarian and chaotic approach poses to the global order – and rightly no longer place their full trust in an increasingly volatile United States. “Voters have repeatedly told us they expect the government to work pragmatically with our most reliable and important trading partner – Europe – to improve the economy, get bills down and ensure our collective security. Labour needs to pick up the pace with Brussels or risk being punished by an electorate still feeling the cost of living squeeze at the next election.”
