Gallup survey data reveals that across countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), approval among members of the public for U.S. leadership has dramatically risen in the earliest parts of Joe Biden’s presidency. Although the exact levels by which approval for U.S. leaders rose in these countries varied, it grew in every surveyed NATO member country except for Lithuania, where it sunk by 6 percent (that country, it’s worth noting, had the highest portion of its population among these particular surveyed nations responding that they didn’t know whether they approved or disapproved of U.S. leadership).
Today, I met with Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense — and with Polish President Andrzej Duda. I’m visiting a refugee site to see our humanitarian efforts. Tonight, I’m delivering remarks on our commitment to a future rooted in democratic principles.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 26, 2022
As Gallup summarized, “Gallup surveys conducted before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 showed the image of U.S. leadership was stronger across much of NATO than it had been in years, after languishing at low levels during the Trump administration. Between 2020 and 2021, U.S. leadership saw double-digit gains in 20 of the 27 NATO members surveyed both years.” Among other examples, in Germany, approval for U.S. leadership among the general public went up by 36 percent from 2020 to 2021, and in France, the same measure went up by 18 percent. In the United Kingdom — another prominent member of the NATO alliance — approval among the general public for those running the U.S. went up by 30 percent across the time-frame in question. Gallup notes that a “fair” amount of the polling underlying these figures was conducted amid or following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — serious issues associated with that withdrawal had been believed to be poised to potentially negatively impact global opinions of U.S. leaders.
"This is a war of tyranny against the free world. President Biden said that what is happening in Ukraine will change the history of the 21st century. We will work together to ensure this change is in our favor," – Ukrainian MFA Kuleba saidhttps://t.co/XkRuCKeYTJ
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 26, 2022
The positive signs for U.S. leaders in terms of global opinions go on from there. In Canada, approval for U.S. leadership went up by 38 percent from 2020 to 2021, while in Poland — which has been on the front lines of the global response to Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine — approval grew by 20 percent. Amid the war in Ukraine, Biden and other U.S. leaders have assumed a position of global prominence in taking on Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Biden visited members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in Poland on Friday, commenting that “what’s at stake is not just what we’re doing here in Ukraine to help the Ukrainian people and keep the massacre from continuing, but beyond that what’s at stake is what are your kids and grandkids going to look like in terms of their freedom?.. What you’re engaged in is much more than whether or not we can alleviate the suffering of Ukraine… We’re in a new phase, your generation. We’re at an inflection point.”
"We know what it means to be attacked by Russian armed forces, because our grandfathers, great grandfathers…experienced that," Polish President Duda says. Biden adds that the US has learned when it stays out of stability in Europe, "it always comes back to haunt the U.S.”
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 26, 2022
The U.S. has, among other steps, imposed sanctions on hundreds of targets inside Russia and coordinated the delivery of significant defense assistance to Ukraine amid its efforts to beat back the Russian invasion. Recently, the Biden administration announced an additional $800 million in military assistance for Ukraine, consisting of various weapons.
Today, I met with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov. We discussed our efforts to rally the world in support of Ukraine and the significant military and humanitarian assistance the United States is providing. pic.twitter.com/N8bvuua19c
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 26, 2022
