Survey: Germans say Trump is more dangerous than Putin, Kim or Xi

[babylonsister]

https://www.axios.com/germany-trump-dangerous-putin-kim-xi-64205f2a-9eb2-4884-a9f9-c7e57a017420.html


Ursula Perano
36 mins ago
Survey: Germans say Trump is more dangerous than Putin, Kim or Xi


41% of Germans believe President Trump is more of a threat to world peace than North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping or Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a YouGov survey reported by DW.

Why it matters: The results show the degree to which trust in U.S. leadership has eroded under Trump, even among countries like Germany that are traditionally viewed as close allies.

Details: 2,000 Germans participated in the survey, which was conducted between Dec. 16 and 18. Kim Jong-un came in second at 17%, followed by Putin and Khamenei at 8% and Xi at 7%.

Between the lines: Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have a rocky relationship. Trump has bashed Germany and other European countries for what he views as unfair trade policies and a failure to hit NATO defense spending targets.

Go deeper: NATO allies spooked by Trump despite White House soothing

[kentuck]

1. Wow!

That is amazing!

[babylonsister]

2. He scares everyone, not just us! nt

[Hermit-The-Prog]

4. he scares Russians, too; just look at our Russiapublican Senators

[redstatebluegirl]

3. He will blow this up and have it on his wall.

He loves being seen as "dangerous" and a "strongman" whatever the hell that means.

[lpbk2713]

5. Twenty four percentage points less favorable than Kim. That's understandable.

[liberaltrucker]

6. They should know

nt

[Midnightwalk]

7. There are multiple reasons

The article linked from axios didn’t give reasons but i can think of a few easily.

First America is taking steps towards authoritarianism under trump with consolidation of power in the president and the weakening of effective checks by congress and the courts. Impeachment will likely not lead to removal. The courts have moved to the right for decades. Those other countries already are bad.

America is not as strong against authoritarian governments like the others mentioned. Trump publicly idolizes non muslim dictators. Our commitment to our allies has been weakened.

Geopolitical change is inherently dangerous. Trade wars, abandoning syria to russia and turkey, the movement of Turkey to Russian influences, threatening to withdraw troops from korea.

Trump has destabilized institutions around the world in a thoughtless way. Some other dynamic will replace some of them and we don’t have anyway of accurately predicting the outcomes.