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New poll shows Trump unpopular in Europe – even among right-wingers

David Benjamin
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump poses for a photo during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with European and Middle Eastern leaders in what???s being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett - Pool / Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump often talks about Europe’s populist right as if it’s a natural overseas extension of his own MAGA movement. The voters he’s hoping to charm overseas, it seems, are somewhat less enthusiastic about the former Apprentice host and his aggressive style of politics. New polling suggests that Trump struggles to win affection even from supporters of the parties he openly wants to see take power across Europe. While he frames himself as a useful ally to them, many of those voters appear unconvinced that importing Trump’s brand of front-foot populist politics would help improve anything at home. (Picture: Getty Images)
The clearest pushback is coming from France, a country that has a recent history of flirting with right-wing politics. National Rally president Jordan Bardella has openly rejected the idea of following Trump’s lead. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, the MEP warned against the ‘vassalage’ of ‘a big brother like Trump’. Party figures have also stressed that their focus remains firmly domestic. The message is fairly simple. They want power in France, not a political sponsorship deal from Washington that could scare off cautious French voters. (Picture: Getty Images)
Recent polling from POLITICO suggests that this leadership caution is rather well placed. Amongst National Rally supporters, more respondents say they view Trump negatively than positively. Just 30% report favourable views, while 38% say that they actively dislike him. That gap matters for a party trying to look credible to a broader electorate. Liking Marine Le Pen, for example, doesn’t automatically mean liking Trump. And many voters appear keen to keep the two notions quite separate. (Picture: Getty Images)
Germany tells a similar story. Supporters of Alternative for Germany strongly back co-leader Alice Weidel, but opinions on Trump are split down the middle. Around 34% view him positively, while 33% see him negatively. For a party already under intense scrutiny, being associated with a deeply divisive foreign leader offers up little in the way of an obvious upside, especially when the base itself can’t really agree on how they view the man. (Picture: Getty Images)
Britain remains Trump’s best European market, though enthusiasm still comes with its limits. Among Reform-aligned respondents, 50% said they had favourable views of him. That’s higher than anywhere else in Europe, admittedly, but it still leaves half of those polled either unimpressed or actively hostile towards the American. (Picture: Getty Images)
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 28: U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following their meeting at Trump???s Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
These findings come from the new POLITICO poll and were carried out with policy, research, opinion and strategy consultancy Public First. More than 10,000 people across five countries were surveyed earlier this month. Across the general population, Trump performs pretty poorly almost everywhere. In France and Germany, around two-thirds of respondents said they held negative views. In the UK, 55% reported unfavourable opinions. (Picture: Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
The picture doesn’t improve much when compared with the United States itself. Over there, 50% of all respondents said that they viewed President Trump negatively. Canada was the most sceptical audience of all, with 72% expressing a negative opinion. It’s relatively damaging to Trump’s reputation. A recent national security strategy talked openly about encouraging the rise of ‘patriotic European parties’. Those movements have grown in recent years, but many are still trying to expand beyond a loyal core. The polling suggests that visible closeness to Trump could make that job harder, not easier. (Picture: REUTERS)

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PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 24: U.S. President Donald Trump calls service members on Christmas Eve at the Mar-a-Lago resort on December 24, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the holidays in Florida this year. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Potential new voters are especially wary. People who said they might support right-wing populist parties in a future election were often more negative about Trump than those who backed those parties in the past, meaning the voters these parties need next are less keen on Trump than the voters they already have locked in. The numbers suggest right-leaning European parties should lean away from Trump if they’re to progress and increase their seats of power. (Picture: Getty Images)
France’s National Rally sits right at the centre of that very dilemma. The party of Le Pen and Bardella is polling strongly ahead of local elections next year and the presidential race in 2027. It’s already the largest single party in the National Assembly. Winning power means broadening their appeal, and Trump’s shadow – it appears – may actually be more of a hindrance than a help. (Picture: Getty Images)
That tension may explain why party figures appear to have been pretty blunt when discussing POTUS of late. National Rally-aligned French MEP Thierry Mariani recently told POLITICO that ‘Trump treats us like a colony with his rhetoric, especially economically and politically.’ (Picture: Getty Images)

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