Recent global reactions show the world’s diminishing respect for American leadership, particularly following Trump’s 2024 election victory and subsequent actions in 2025.
International polling reveals a dramatic decline in America’s global standing, with only 46% of people across 29 countries believing the US will have a positive influence on world affairs, down from 59% just months earlier[1]. Even in Canada, traditionally a close ally, positive views of the US plummeted from 52% to just 19%[1:1].
Trump’s 58-minute UN speech in September 2025 drew stony faces from world leaders, a stark contrast to previous years when delegates would laugh at his claims[2]. According to body language expert Peter Collett, “People are taking it much more seriously. Whereas formerly it was a source of amusement when he puffed himself up, now almost everything he has to say has to be taken seriously”[2:1].
The administration’s policies have further eroded America’s standing. Massive tariffs imposed on nearly 70 countries have disrupted global trade[3], while Trump’s stance on immigration and inflammatory rhetoric about other nations has alienated allies. At the UN, Brazilian President Lula warned of “attacks on sovereignty, arbitrary sanctions and unilateral interventions” becoming the norm[4].
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez emerged as a leading European voice opposing American policies, defending migration and open societies while warning about “the door to tyranny”[4:1]. Meanwhile, Indonesian President Subianto received applause at the UN for declaring “No one country can bully the whole of the human family”[4:2].
Only propaganda kept the image of the US alive, and their sole position as THE military superpower meant everyone had to just take the long shaft of American intervention, either the easy way or the hard way, but it ain’t the early 00s anymore. Also, American culture has progressively lost its mask (and social media like TikTok just tore it off, basically), so the ugliness of imperialism and the disgusting selfishness mixed with post-relativist amorality just destroyed any “face” the US had. 🤷