Trump's global image slumps: Indians trust Putin more than Trump
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump's global image slumps: Indians trust Putin more than Trump")
Traditional Russian wooden nesting dolls, Matryoshka dolls, depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are displayed for sale at a gift shop on the touristic Arbat street in downtown Moscow on October 21, 2025 Photograph: (AFP)
Pew survey finds Indians trust Putin more than Trump on global affairs. Macron ranks highest globally, while Trump's ratings decline across key issues.
The confidence in Trump's leadership has significantly flipped in India. 51 per cent of Indian respondents express confidence in Putin to manage global affairs, compared to only 39 per cent who trust in Trump's capability. The report also suggests that the majority of Indians disapprove of Trump on a wide spectrum of global policy issues, from handling of Iran, Venezuela, global tariffs and immigration policies. Roughly 17 per cent approve of Trump's handling of Venezuela, while 28 per cent approve of his handling of Iran, 18 per cent of Indians approve of Trump's global tariff policy, and only 32 per cent have a favourable view of Trump's restrictive immigration policy.
India is the only outlier
The majority of Indians, approximately 80 per cent, think Trump is "arrogant" and 65 per cent think he is a “dangerous leader”. But a significant 67 per cent majority also described him as a "strong leader". Among 17 middle-income countries, only Indians have a comparatively favourable view of US interference in other countries, 47 per cent think the US does interfere, while 30 per cent think the US does not. This shows that while Indians find the US policy unfavourable, there is still a large division among the Indian population about the true US motivation on the world stage. India is an outlier, whereas most of the middle-income countries have a median of 75 per cent who think that the US interferes in other countries' internal policies. Despite growing closeness between the US and Pakistan, only 12 per cent of Pakistanis express confidence in Trump, while a massive 82 per cent report no confidence at all.
Emmanuel Macron has the highest confidence globally
French President Emmanuel Macron commands the most trust globally, among the major world leaders, in Pew Research Centre’s multi-nation June leadership comparisons. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping command more trust than US President Donald Trump globally, according to the survey released on Tuesday. The survey, which covered 42,151 adults in 36 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Gulf region, was conducted between February 8 and May 13, 2026. It shows that Macron sits at the top of the leaderboard with 43 per cent confidence, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at 35 per cent, Chinese President Xi Jinping at 34 per cent, Russian President Vladimir Putin at 31 per cent, US President Donald Trump at 23 per cent, and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at last with only 18 per cent confidence in his leadership to manage the international affairs.
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The irony of Macron's confidence
While French President Emmanuel Macron commands the most approval rating globally, a separate domestic polling tracked by Statista shows that Macron's approval rating within France sits at a historic low of just 18 per cent, with more than 75 per cent disapprove of his leadership. This makes him the least popular democratically elected leader while being the most trusted leader internationally.
