WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The approval ratings of U.S. leadership dropped worldwide in 2017, with serious damage from members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to a recent Gallup poll.
In 2017, Portugal posted a 51-percentage-point loss compared with that of 2016, followed by a loss of 44 points in Belgium and a 42-point drop in Norway, according to a survey article published on the Gallup website Tuesday.
U.S. neighbor Canada also witnessed a 40-point dip in the rating, with only 20 percent of Canadians still acknowledging U.S. leadership in 2017, said the poll.
Meanwhile, ratings dropped significantly among three U.S. longtime European allies France, Britain and Germany, which shed 28 points, 26 points and 21 points respectively.
The poll also showed that the median approval of U.S. leadership across 134 countries and regions stood at a new low of 30 percent in 2017, down from 48 percent in the last year of the Obama administration.
Since the end of the WWI, the United States has leaned on its many powerful allies to assist it in affecting issues beyond its borders, but now U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly shaken the foundations of these partnerships, criticizing them on topics from trade to defense spending, noted Julie Ray, a writer at the Gallup.
Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has repeatedly criticized Germany and other allies for spending too little on defense.
The 29-nation security bloc is holding a summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12.
