One of the most sensational statements of Donald Trump in recent days became his harsh and groundless criticism of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The American leader called the latter “a dictator without elections” and blamed the country’s mismanagement and the failure of the rare earth deal. Trump stated, that Ukraine needs to hold elections because “the approval rating of the current president, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, fell to 4%”.
He too statedthat Zelensky should “act quickly”, otherwise Ukraine may lose its statehood. Trump suggested, without evidence, that the Ukrainian leader was interested in prolonging the war in order to receive support from the United States. It is obvious that his words resonate with the Kremlin’s rhetoric and raise serious doubts about Washington’s future assistance to Kyiv.
European and Asian leaders reacted with harsh criticism: in particular, Olaf Scholz called Trump’s statements “dangerous”. For his part, Singapore’s defense chief Ng Eng Heng is on the sidelines of the Munich conference remarked: “Asian views of the US have changed from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to a “rent-seeking landlord”. At the same time, more and more Republicans in the US are trying to distance themselves from their leader’s comments.
Trump is losing support: rhetoric and economic worries are undermining his ratings
The influence of this rhetoric also affects the rating of Trump himself – he is rapidly falling not only in the eyes of European politicians, but also among his own electorate, where more and more voters doubt his ability to conduct foreign policy.
The other day in the USA took place mass protests against the policies of President Donald Trump and his favorite Elon Musk. Demonstrators voiced opposition to immigration restrictions, curtailment of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and proposals for the forced resettlement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Protests covered Philadelphia, as well as the state capitals of California, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana. Participants of the actions held placards criticizing Trump, Musk and “Project 2025” – a program of reforms for the American government and society. The organization of the protests was coordinated via the Internet using the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, symbolizing 50 protests in 50 states in one day.
According to the latest survey Reuters/Ipsos, released yesterday, President Trump’s approval rating dipped slightly amid growing concern among Americans about the country’s economic situation. The poll, which ran for six days and ended Tuesday, found 44 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s performance as president, down 1 percentage point from the poll taken during his first days in the Oval Office. For comparison, in a survey conducted immediately after his return to the White House, this figure was 47%.
In addition, the share of Americans who disapprove of Trump’s job performance grew up to 51% compared to 41% immediately after he took office. One of the reasons for this downgrade may be the growing concern about economic issues, in particular the impact of introduced tariffs on imports. Agree, the loss of 10% of the rating in a month of being in power seems quite symptomatic.
At the same time, Trump himself, criticizing others for weakness or short-sightedness, does not notice his own miscalculations – like someone who sees the speck in someone else’s eye, but does not notice the log in his own.
Inflation Risks, Budget Cuts, and Nuclear Negotiations: How Trump’s Policies Are Changing the Global Balance
Due to the odious political and economic initiatives of President Trump, the representatives of the Fed, who at the meeting on January 28-29, are also worried discussed the effects of import tariffs and changes in trade and immigration policy. Experts noted that businesses expect higher costs due to the new tariffs, which could lead to higher consumer prices and raise inflation risks. Despite the fears, the Fed left the discount rate at the level of 4.25-4.5% per annum, waiting for the further development of the situation.
The European Commission as well worried that the introduction of US tariffs could negatively affect the US economy by increasing costs for businesses and increasing inflation. This underscores the global nature of the possible economic consequences of changes in US trade policy.
Belt-tightening in strategically important US industries continues. The Trump administration instructed Pentagon to cut the defense budget by 8% over the next five years. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered military leaders to prepare proposals in the coming days.
17 categories will not be subject to cuts, including operations on the US southern border, modernization of the nuclear arsenal, missile defense and the purchase of unmanned attack drones. If implemented, these cuts would reduce costs by tens of billions of dollars annually over five years.
The memorandum provides for continued funding for several major regional commands, including the Indo-Pacific, Northern and Space Commands. But the European, Central and African Commands are not included in this list, which may indicate a change in priorities in the US military strategy.
Minister Hegset noted, that the goal of this initiative is to achieve peace through force, restore military power and eliminate unnecessary costs and bureaucracy.
These plans to cut the defense budget come amid broader changes in the Trump administration’s foreign policy strategy. The president wants restore nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China to cut the defense budgets of all three countries in half.
Trump emphasized the large costs of updating the nuclear arsenal and expressed the hope that these funds could be used for more useful purposes. He also noted that China can reach the level of nuclear potential of the US and Russia within 5-6 years, which makes such negotiations important.
Abbreviation have place just as Trump is calling on members of the North Atlantic Alliance to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP. For most of the countries of the Alliance, this would mean a significant increase in the funding of the army. If the United States were to allocate that much of its budget to defense, its military spending would exceed $1.2 trillion.
Critics worried, that reductions in the defense budget and changes in military strategy can weaken the international position of the superpower and negatively affect the security of allies, especially in Europe. Some experts believe that such actions can provide additional opportunities for global Russian-Chinese influence.
Trump remains one of the least popular US presidents, despite the higher ratings of some world leaders
Donald Trump is still remains the president with the lowest level of popularity among Americans. The US guarantor currently has an approval rating of 44%, which is higher than most world leaders. yielding only four of them. In particular, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has 75% approval, Mexico’s President Claudia Scheinbaum has 69%, Argentina’s Javier Millais has 65%, and Switzerland’s President Karin Keller-Sutter has 56%.
Among the world leaders with the lowest level of support turned out to be Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – only 22% of respondents approved of him, while 71% had the opposite opinion. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received even less support, who is positively evaluated by 20% of respondents, while 74% disapprove of his activities. French President Emmanuel Macron also faces high levels of criticism, with only 18% of respondents supporting his work, while 76% criticize it.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has the worst performance among his own population – 17% of citizens support his activities, while 75% disapprove. The situation is similar for the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, who has only 16% support and 77% negative evaluations.
Regarding the popularity of Donald Trump among American presidents, his rating remains one of the lowest in the entire history of the modern USA. Gallup poll shows that he is the only head of state elected since 1953 to start with an approval rating below 50%.
Experty remind, that newly elected presidents usually enjoy the “honeymoon” effect, when their support increases in the first 100 days after the inauguration. However, Oxford University historian Laura Smith believes that Trump skillfully persuaded voters to vote against their own interests, particularly economic ones, and predicts that his support level will soon change.
… So, despite Trump’s loud criticism of the Ukrainian leader, the reality looks different. According to the results research of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, published in January, the level of trust in Volodymyr Zelensky was 52%. It is obvious that the political struggle for international prestige forces some politicians not only to manipulate the facts, but also to blame others for the same problems they themselves face. However, one should not take wishful thinking for granted.
Tetyana Viktorova
