Courtesy of Pam Martens
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Since the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, the stock market has performed as if it is operating in an alternative universe, regularly setting new record highs despite unprecedented chaos coming from the White House. Now, a new Gallup poll is calling into question how long the divergence between the market’s view of Trump and the world view of Trump can continue.
A new Gallup poll released yesterday puts global approval of US leadership at just 30%, behind China at 31% and Russia at 27%. Germany has moved into the top slot in the world with a leadership approval rating of 41%.
One of the most striking findings from the poll is how far America’s leadership approval has fallen among our closest neighbors. According to Gallup, Canada led declines with U.S. leadership approval sinking 40 points from 60% in 2016 to 20% in 2017. America’s neighbor to the south, Mexico, registered a record low approval rating of U.S. leadership, falling 28 points from 44% in 2016 to 16% in 2017, eight points lower than the previous decade low of 24% in 2008.
Approval rankings in Europe were only slightly less abysmal. Europe now registers a 25% approval and 56% disapproval. The poll notes that these ratings were actually worse during the last year of the George W. Bush administration. (The last year of the Bush administration was 2008, a time when Wall Street was causing cataclysmic financial disasters around the globe.)
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