The lowest trust any US president has commanded in 24 years
For a quarter-century, India stood as a quiet exception to global anti-American sentiment — a democracy that extended goodwill to Washington even when much of the world did not. A new Pew survey, drawing on 3,566 Indian voices across 13 languages, suggests that exception may now be closing: just 39 percent of Indians trust Donald Trump to act wisely on the world stage, the lowest confidence recorded for any American president since tracking began in 2002, while unfavorable views of America itself have reached a historic high of 31 percent. What the numbers reveal is not merely a reaction to one man, but a reckoning with how the United States chooses to exercise its power — through tariffs, through the closure of aid institutions, and through its posture in Gaza and Ukraine.
- Indian confidence in Trump has collapsed from 52 percent to 39 percent in a single year — the steepest and lowest reading for any US president in 24 years of Pew polling.
- American favorability in India has fallen to 45 percent while active disapproval has climbed to 31 percent, a figure with no precedent in the entire history of this survey.
- Specific policies are driving the rupture: global tariffs, the shuttering of USAID, and Trump's handling of the Gaza and Ukraine conflicts have each registered as distinct sources of Indian discontent.
- What makes this moment alarming is not just the decline but the direction — where earlier administrations saw Indians simply withhold judgment when dissatisfied, Trump's second term is generating recorded, active disapproval at unprecedented levels.
- India's long-standing role as an outlier of pro-American sentiment — holding 71 percent favorability even during the Iraq War — now appears to be dissolving into the same skepticism that has long characterized global opinion.
A quarter-century of polling has captured something remarkable about India's relationship with America: even when the rest of the world soured on Washington, Indians largely did not. That pattern has now broken. The 2026 Pew survey finds just 39 percent of Indians confident that Donald Trump will do the right thing in world affairs — the lowest figure for any sitting US president since tracking began in 2002, down sharply from 52 percent only a year ago. American favorability has fallen from 54 to 45 percent, while unfavorable views have risen to 31 percent, the highest negative rating in the survey's entire history.
Indian respondents identified clear grievances: Trump's sweeping use of tariffs, his handling of the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and the closure of USAID all drew widespread disapproval. The picture that emerges is of a population troubled not merely by American domestic choices but by how the United States wields influence abroad.
The historical contrast is striking. In 2005, two years into the Iraq War, India still rated America at 71 percent favorability. Obama's arrival in 2009 pushed that figure to a record 76 percent, and his personal confidence ratings held near 77 percent. Even Biden, whose final year saw erosion, never triggered the kind of active disapproval now being recorded. Trump's first term had actually gained ground in India over time, reaching 56 percent confidence and 60 percent favorability by 2020.
His second term has followed no such arc. The numbers have not merely fallen below his first-term highs — they have fallen below where he began in 2017. More telling still is the quality of the dissatisfaction: where earlier administrations saw Indians simply decline to express an opinion when displeased, this moment is producing active, measured disapproval at levels never before seen. The long-standing American advantage in Indian regard has not simply diminished — it has begun to invert.
A quarter-century of polling data tells a story of American standing in India that has suddenly reversed course. The 2026 Pew survey, released this week, captures a striking moment: just 39 percent of Indians now express confidence that Donald Trump will do the right thing in world affairs. That figure represents the lowest trust any sitting US president has commanded among Indian respondents since Pew began tracking global opinion in 2002. A year ago, when Trump took office for his second term, 52 percent of Indians held that confidence. The drop is steep and unambiguous.
The broader picture of American favorability has darkened in tandem. Only 45 percent of Indians now view the United States favorably, down from 54 percent last year. More striking still is the rise in unfavorable sentiment: 31 percent of Indians now hold negative views of America, the highest disapproval rating recorded in the entire 24-year polling history. These are not marginal shifts. They represent a fundamental recalibration of how a major democratic nation perceives the world's largest superpower.
Indian respondents pointed to specific grievances. Trump's use of global tariffs drew widespread disapproval. His handling of the Gaza conflict and the ongoing war in Ukraine generated similarly low marks. The closure of international aid bodies, particularly the United States Agency for International Development, also registered as a source of discontent. The picture that emerges is one of a population concerned not just with American domestic policy but with how the United States exercises power abroad.
What makes this moment historically significant is how sharply it breaks from the recent past. For two decades, Indian views of America remained relatively stable and predominantly positive. In 2005, just two years after the Iraq War began—a conflict that generated global backlash—India still rated America at 71 percent favorability. Even as Bush's presidency ended in 2008 with approval ratings of 37 percent at home and 14 percent in Germany, 55 percent of Indians remained supportive. The India-US relationship, it seemed, operated on a different calculus than Western public opinion.
The arrival of Barack Obama in 2009 pushed American favorability in India to a record 76 percent. Obama himself commanded extraordinary confidence among Indian respondents, reaching 77 percent in 2009 and holding at 75 percent in 2015. His tenure was not without dips—favorability fell to 41 percent in 2011—but those declines did not translate into rising disapproval. Instead, large numbers of Indians simply withheld judgment. The pattern suggested a reservoir of goodwill toward America that could absorb policy disagreements without hardening into active dislike.
Joe Biden inherited much of that reservoir. In 2023, 64 percent of Indians expressed confidence in him. But his final year in office saw that confidence erode to 44 percent, and general US favorability fell from 65 to 51 percent. Trump's first term, by contrast, had moved in the opposite direction. He began in 2017 with 40 percent confidence and 49 percent favorability ratings, but by 2020 those numbers had climbed to 56 and 60 percent respectively. The trajectory suggested a president gaining ground in Indian public opinion as his term progressed.
His second term has followed no such path. It began on a positive note but has deteriorated significantly. The 39 percent confidence rating and 45 percent favorability now recorded represent not just a decline from his first term but a fall below where he started in 2017. The disapproval figures tell the story most sharply: where earlier administrations saw Indian respondents simply decline to express an opinion when dissatisfied, Trump's second term has generated active, recorded disapproval at levels never before measured.
Pew conducted the 2026 survey through telephone, face-to-face, and online interviews, reaching 3,566 Indians across the country in 13 languages. The methodology has remained consistent across the quarter-century of tracking, lending weight to the comparison. What emerges is a portrait of Indian public opinion at an inflection point—a moment when the long-standing American advantage in Indian regard has not merely diminished but inverted into active skepticism about American leadership and intentions.
Citas Notables
Indians largely disapprove of Trump's use of global tariffs, his handling of conflicts, and US restrictive immigration policies— Pew Research Center 2026 survey findings
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Indian opinion matter so much here? It's one country among many.
India is the world's most populous democracy and increasingly central to US strategy in Asia. If American standing there erodes, it affects everything from trade partnerships to security arrangements to soft power in the region.
But the numbers show Indians were supportive even when America was deeply unpopular elsewhere—during Iraq, during Bush's final years. What changed?
That's the puzzle. There was something about the US-India relationship that seemed insulated from global anti-American sentiment. Obama deepened that. But Trump's second term appears to have broken that pattern in a way his first term didn't.
The tariffs and USAID closure—are those the real drivers, or are they symbols of something deeper?
Probably both. The tariffs hit India's economy directly. USAID closure affects development work Indians see as beneficial. But they also signal a shift in how America sees its role—less as a global partner, more as a transactional power. Indians notice that distinction.
Why didn't disapproval spike under Obama when favorability dipped in 2011?
Because uncertainty filled the gap. When Indians weren't sure what to think, they said so. Now they're sure, and what they're sure of is negative. That's a different kind of problem.
Can these numbers recover, or is this a permanent reset?
History suggests it depends on what happens next. Obama recovered from his 2011 dip. But that required time and visible policy shifts. Trump's second term is only months old, and the trajectory is still moving downward.