Above photo: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press.
President Trump has pushed for taking Greenland from NATO member Denmark.
And annexing the Canadian province of Alberta.
A new poll shows that the US is losing credibility among its traditional western partners, who are beginning to view Washington as an “unreliable ally,” POLITICO reported on 12 February.
Among Canadians, French, and Germans, “Far more people described the U.S. as an unreliable ally than a reliable one,” the US-based news outlet wrote, citing a poll conducted by London-based Public First.
“American credibility was highest in the U.K., but only by comparison,” POLITICO added.
Only 35 percent of respondents in the UK said the US was a reliable ally, while 39 percent said it was unreliable.
Pluralities of adults in France and Germany said they did not believe their alliance with Washington would deter attacks from enemies.
Over the past year, the UK has seen a 10 percent drop in the number of its citizens who view the US as an effective deterrent against enemy attacks.
German and French citizens increasingly believe the US does not protect democracy, share their values, or act as a reliable ally.
Relations between the Washington and some of its NATO partners have been strained in part by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to seize Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark, including issuing threats to impose tariffs on European countries that refuse to back the move.
“Last year, the public felt that the U.S. was an unreliable ally but a critical one, deterring their enemies despite being slightly unpredictable,” said Seb Wride, head of polling for Public First.
“But now, far from taking the transatlantic deterrence offered by the NATO alliance for granted, the European public hardly believes it exists – the main question for the leaders heading to [Munich Security Conference] now is how the security it offered can be recreated without the U.S.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a large US delegation this week to the Munich Security Conference, an annual summit that brings together heads of state, foreign and defense ministers, heads of international organizations, parliamentarians, strategic industry representatives, and think tanks to discuss issues of global diplomacy and transatlantic strategic exchange.
In January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly condemned Trump’s use of tariffs and “economic integration as weapons” to disrupt the rules-based order during a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The speech came after the US president ordered the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and seized control of the South American country’s oil revenues.
Trump has met with Canadian separatists several times this year to discuss the annexation of oil-rich Alberta province to the US.
France’s Emmanuel Macron stated earlier this week that the Trump presidency has been “openly anti-European,” displaying “contempt” for the EU while wishing for “its dismemberment.”
In both France and Germany, fewer than 20 percent of respondents agreed with the statement “the US shares our values,” while some 50 percent disagreed.
The POLITICO and Public First poll was conducted in early February and surveyed 10,289 adults online, with at least 2,000 respondents each from the US, Canada, the UK, France, and Germany.
