Have They Gone Crazy? What Europeans Think of Americans in the Age of Trump

Francesco Duina, Department of Sociology, Bates College
Michael Rocque, Bates College

What do Europeans think of Americans in the age of Trump? While we know a good deal about what they think of the United States, we are far less clear about what they think about Americans – that is, of the citizens of the United States, many of whom elected him twice as President. The focus is on how Europeans assess the qualities of the American people, such as their intelligence, priorities, knowledge, tendencies, and trustworthiness. This is different from what they think of America or of the government of the United States. And what they think matters for the economy, geopolitics, the environment, and culture. Drawing from original survey data conducted in five countries (Denmark, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Poland), this article assesses Europeans’ opinions of Americans. To structure the investigation, general questions were followed by specific ones on topics of high salience during the first and/or second Trump presidencies: International behavior (e.g., tariffs, war in Ukraine, Greenland, cooperation) Health (vaccines, fitness, disparities) DEI and wokeness ICE and anti-immigration The environment Crime

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 33. Trust in Uncertain Times: Substantive and Methodological Reflections