Gallup: British approval of U.S. leadership at all-time low

Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Approval of U.S. leadership in Britain has sunk to an all-time low, according to a Gallup survey on Thursday.

The poll shows that just 15% of British citizens approve of President Donald Trump's leadership, and their approval has steadily eroded since he took office almost four years ago.

Seventy-five percent of Britons said they disapprove of U.S. leadership, the highest share since Gallup began asking the question. The disapproval mark topped the old high of 66% in 2007 toward the end of President George W. Bush's term.

British approval of U.S. leadership is lower than that of Russia (17%), but slightly better than China (12%).

Disapproval was 63% in 2017 in Trump's first year after hovering at 33% in the final year of President Barack Obama's tenure. It rose to 64% in 2018 and 65% last year.

"So much has changed around the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial tensions and social unrest," Gallup wrote. "With China and the U.S. serving as the epicenters of many of these issues, it comes as little surprise that confidence in how these countries are governed has dropped.

"Amid a highly anticipated U.S. presidential election -- which is still undecided as of this posting -- as well as rising tensions between the U.K. and China over new security laws enacted in Hong Kong, Britons' approval of these nations' leadership could fluctuate even further depending on how the final months of 2020 play out."

Britons, however, largely favor German leadership under Chancellor Angela Merkel (67%), slightly topping the all-time high of 66% in 2015.

Gallup polled about 1,000 British adults for the survey, which has a margin of error of 3.7 points.