How widespread is global fatigue with the US?

The global image of the US has taken a blow, as many people are increasingly fed up with the constant stream of controversies surrounding the Trump administration.

While they're not representative, comments like these have been increasingly popping up on DW's social media accounts when the posts concern the United States: "Should we really be interested in what's happening in the US? (...) Please, DW, stop fixating on everything American," or "It might be worth mentioning that Europeans — and actually, the whole world — are currently suffering from 'America fatigue.'"

Long seen as land of promise

For decades, the US and the American Way of Life held a special promise for young people around the world.

Take Germany as an example: After the end of World War II, people in West Germany quickly realized that their American occupiers not only handed out chewing gum, cigarettes and chocolate, but also brought their own culture with them. Rock 'n' roll, jazz, blue jeans and Coca-Cola quickly left a mark on an entire postwar generation — with American GIs as role models.

Additionally, structural support was also provided by the US. Its US Marshall Plan helped 16 Western European countries rebuild after the war, with the goal of stabilizing democratic systems.

West Germany, as the aggressor behind the Second World War, received the largest share of aid after Britain, France and Italy. This aid helped kickstart the German economic miracle of the 1950s and 60s, but it also helped establish democratic processes after national socialism.

"That's where the US were really innovative," says Frank Mehring, professor for American Studies at the Radboud University, Nijmengen. "They realized that arts and culture can help convince people to do the right thing, and that films, photography and exhibitions can provide a new perspective that moves away from solely focusing on your own country to actually finding a new role within Europe. And that was also the beginning of a new perspective on the US."

In 1963, pro-American sentiment in West Germany peaked at over 80% — not least thanks to the popularity of the young US president at the time, John F. Kennedy.

Then came the Vietnam War and, in the decades that followed, plenty of reasons to take a more critical view of US politics.

Overall, however, the US was still widely seen as cool — especially among youth culture — and as the place where trends originated, thanks to countless American TV series and films, as well as pop and sports stars.

The state of American democracy? Surveys say: not great

But in recent times, the American image has suffered immensely — and not just in Germany, where two thirds of the population hold a negative view of the US (Statista, 2025), but in many countries in the world. According to the Democracy Perception Index (DPI), the biggest annual study in the world on the public opinion of the state of democracy, only 45% of those surveyed worldwide still had a positive impression of the US. That puts the country's image in a worse place than China's. In 2024, this figure was 76%.

Another DPI survey sheds light on the root cause of this development: 82% of countries have an overall negative view of US President Donald Trump — placing him well below Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (61%), and Xi Jinping, President of China (44%). That makes Mr. Trump one of the most unpopular heads of state in the world.

It should be noted that these results reflect the situation before events such as ICE's brutal crackdown, Trump's openly expansionist attitude toward Greenland and the US attack on Iran.

Many parents currently 'don't have a good feeling' about the US

It has also become significantly less popular to travel to the US. This trend is clear to see, for instance, in the number of German teenagers wishing to spend a semester or entire school year abroad in 2026-2027.

Nevertheless, "the US is still destination number one," according to Thomas Terbeck, managing director of the education consultation service Weltweiser. Comprehensive data is not yet available for the current and coming exchange year, but Terbeck points out that "at a sector event in January, almost all of the 45 or so organizations present confirmed there were fewer applications."

Young people are instead opting for other English-speaking countries — first and foremost Canada — or are simply staying home. "Many parents don't have a good feeling about the US anymore — especially due to Trump," Terbeck told DW.

US expert Frank Mehring views this trend with concern: "If people don't travel to the US anymore out of fear, that's a problem, because fear is the greatest enemy of freedom and democracy." The fears are also often overblown or unjustified, he says, as many people in the US remain extremely active in the protest movement, fighting for democracy, and are very well informed. "I don't want to sugarcoat things," he emphasizes: "There are really dramatic changes, with many people there — Indigenous population groups, ethnic minorities — sometimes living in a really dangerous situation. But we still shouldn't turn our backs and have the feeling the US has already gone to hell."

Fascination meets critical questioning

So are people truly fed up with the US? Not in Frank Mehring's opinion: "The US may be polarizing, but there aren't many people who don't care about it." He points out the peace movement that mobilized millions of Germans in the early 1980s to protest the stationing of American Pershing II missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, explaining, "Back then, people took to the streets in jeans and drew inspiration from Bob Dylan's songs and Woodstock to formulate their resistance. They found a language in the cultural peculiarities of the US to criticize the US." Even in their harshest criticism, they retained their fascination with American culture.

The current "America fatigue" is mostly related to Donald Trump and the media's focus on him — meaning everything may change again at the next American presidential election: "The image of the US also deteriorated significantly under George W. Bush — then came Barack Obama."

This article was originally written in German.