Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ A new poll shows a sharp rise in the number of Republicans who consider Canada, Ukraine and the EU to be enemies of the United States, and a drop in both Republicans and Democrats who consider Russia to be hostile. It shows the impact of Donald Trump's rhetoric. ⬇️

2/ The Economist has published a YouGov poll showing how Trumpian rhetoric and agitation by pro-Trump outlets such as Fox News has transformed Republicans' views towards America's former allies, which have now been recast as enemies.

3/ Before the 2024 election, 12% of Republicans saw Canada as an enemy, and 17% saw the EU similarly. Those figures are now 27% and 29%, having doubled since Trump's return to the presidency.

4/ When Russian launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, 85% of Americans saw Russia as an enemy of the US. Those figures remained synchronised between the parties until the 2024 election. 28% of Republicans now no longer see Russia as hostile.

5/ Interestingly, there has been a similar though smaller drop among Democrats as well. The number seeing Russia as hostile has fallen from nearly 90% to about 82% now, which suggests that pro-Russian propaganda is having some success with both parties.

6/ In February 2022, around 10% of Republicans and Democrats saw Ukraine as unfriendly or an enemy. That figure very quickly diverged, likely due to Trump's agitation against aiding Ukraine, and has spiked to about 28% among Republicans since his election in November 2024.

7/ At the same time, however, the number of Democrats seeing Ukraine as hostile has fallen since 2022 and now stands at only 6%. It likely reflects a partisan reaction against Republican hostility towards Ukraine ("thermostatic response", as political scientists say).

8/ The poll also shows the effect of Trump's policies on perceptions of the US in Europe. Approval of the US has fallen precipitously everywhere, nowhere more so than in Denmark, where Trump's demands to annex Greenland have reduced approval from 48% to 20%.

9/ Supporters of hard-right European parties in most countries stand apart from those of mainstream parties in registering an increased approval of a US governed by Trump.

10/ However, this does not hold true for Denmark, where hard-right supporters actually disapprove of Trump more than those of mainstream parties – only about 17% now approve, down from nearly 70% in mid-2024. This clearly reflects the Greenland situation.

11/ It suggests that support for Trump from foreign hard-right and far-right parties will only hold up until he targets their own countries. Hard-line nationalists are likely to react especially strongly against encroachments on their own countries' sovereignty. /end

Source:
economist.com/graphic-detail…