Here is this week’s letter to the editor of the Herald Times Reporter. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views.
America’s standing with global allies
How long will it take for America to gain favor in the world again? Trust is something that is earned over time but can be lost in one presidential term.
Pew research reports that 79% of those in Sweden have unfavorable opinions of America in 2025 compared to 46% in 2024. The opinions of many other nations are similarly going negative: Mexico 34% up to 69%, Netherlands 48% to 69%, Germany 47% to 66%, and France 47% to 59%, to name only a few.
Pew also reported that perception of economic power is largely split between the U.S. and China. The U.S. leads in Japan, South Korea, Israel, Canada, Turkey and Sweden while China is picked by Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Australia, France and Hungary.
Pew further reports several countries view democracy in America as very to somewhat poor. These countries include Canada (60%), United Kingdom (54%), France (60%), Netherlands (66%), Germany (69%), Sweden (77%) and Australia (72%).
America needs to have the support of many of these countries for trade, mutual defense and to interact with world leaders as a trustworthy partner. Treaties negotiated with our allies to avoid conflict with those not friendly to America need to be honored. President Trump has scraped many treaties without so much as notifying our partners of his intentions. The nuclear treaty under Obama with Iran was thrown out by Trump and we now witness the consequences of that action.
America now must make every effort to redeem itself.
Donald Vogt
Manitowoc
Our letters policy
Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to htrnews@htrnews.com and Editor Brandon Reid at breid@usatodayco.com. Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc letter warns US standing is slipping worldwide
Reporting by Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
