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Confidence in world leaders: A majority of Australians distrust Donald TrumpConfidence in world leaders: A majority of Australians distrust Donald Trump
Only 21% of Australians say they trust Donald Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs, the lowest level of confidence in any US president in the history of Lowy Institute polling. Vice President JD Vance fares no better, with only 20% of Australians saying they have confidence in him as a world leader.
Confidence in China’s leader Xi Jinping remains low but has risen four points since last year’s Poll to 20%, in line with Australians’ modest rise in trust in China. Only 4% of Australians say they have confidence in North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, making him the world leader who inspires the least amount of confidence, followed closely by Russian president Vladimir Putin (8%).
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney inspires the greatest confidence (66%) of all world leaders, with New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon (65%) a close second. Similarly high levels of confidence are expressed in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy (62%) and Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi (62%).
Confidence in French president Emmanuel Macron sits at 59%, within the margin of error from last year’s result (61%). There were losses for Australian and British leaders. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s rating fell by seven points to 53%, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s fell nine points to 50%.
Confidence in Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto held steady on last year at 29%, and fell three points for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, from 35% to 32%.
About the author
Charles Lyons-Jones
Charles Lyons-Jones is a Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s Foreign Policy and Public Opinion Program. He oversees the annual Lowy Institute Poll and the Global Diplomacy Index.
