Citizens in traditional US ally countries such as the United Kingdom, South Korea, and EU member states express greater doubts about the future of a Trump administration compared to the rest of the world, according to a new global survey.
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00:00The European Union and the United Kingdom are the most sceptical about Donald Trump's
00:11return to the White House as US president, according to a study conducted by the European
00:17Council on Foreign Relations over 24 countries. The historical European allies' scepticism
00:24contrasts with the more positive opinion emerging elsewhere in the world. But historian
00:30Timothy Garton explains why Europe is wary.
00:34What do we have in common? We're both US allies who depend on the US for our security. So
00:40that's a very telling and dramatic finding. You know, we already face a world of transactional
00:47great powers, Russia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa. And you know what? With Donald
00:53Trump, we see the United States, for the first time since 1945, again becoming a kind of
01:02transactional great power. That's why countries like China or Russia or India are quite relaxed
01:09about it, and we're definitely not.
01:12For the historian, one of Europe's main challenges will be presenting a united front to the next
01:19US president, but also to the entire international stage in order to influence geopolitical decisions.
01:26According to the survey, the EU is considered by many citizens to be on par with the United
01:31States and China.
01:34We ask the question whether the EU can deal as an equal with the US and China. I expected
01:41most of the world to be sceptical. Actually, the world has quite a positive view. Majorities
01:46or pluralities say yes. So in a way, we Europeans don't have enough confidence in our own power.
01:56But of course, it's potential power. We have to make it actual.
02:01The authors of the report say that the differences in how the US and Europe are seen show that
02:08the West is no longer a single, united geopolitical force. However, it is still the strongest
02:14international military alliance, according to the historian.