"Despite the significant global outrage at US President Donald Trump and his supporters – best highlighted by the Pew surveys and more viscerally by the enormous anti-Trump protests in London in July 2018 – anti-Americanism is less apparent under Trump than it was under President George W. Bush.
"Shortly into the Bush presidency, a wave of books such as Why do People Hate America? became bestsellers. This was part of a lively debate at the time about what constituted anti-Americanism.
"I was part of this cottage industry during the Bush era and ended up editing seven books on the topic. I reached the conclusion that anti-Americanism is best understood as a generalised prejudice against, and disdain for, America and Americans. In the Trump era, there is no sign of this publishing boom reappearing; instead books and articles on populism are now the preferred way to understand Trump.
"There are a range of reasons for this. Firstly, Trump does not personify America to foreigners in the way that Bush did. Although Trump is a populist, it is more his policies and speeches that are populist than the man himself.
"...The other reason Bush was seen to represent American attitudes was that foreigners quickly forgot his highly controversial victory in 2000 after the events of 9/11, which led to his popularity skyrocketing.
"In September 2001, Bush received the highest approval of any president since surveys were initiated in the 1940s. A Gallup survey had his public approval at 90%. An ABC News poll the same month had his approval peaking at 92%. Trump’s approval rating in the Gallup surveys has never been higher than 45%.
"The other factor that made anti-Americanism more apparent during the Bush presidency than during the Trump era to date was a sense that most Americans supported the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
"This rallying around the flag during the Bush era, when unity was demanded and often achieved, stands in marked contrast to the Trump era. It’s obvious to non-Americans that many Americans were very unhappy Trump was elected.
The Women’s March in Washington DC the day after Trump’s inauguration, which attracted half-a-million protesters, received a lot of global coverage and inspired similar (although smaller) Women’s Marches around the world.
"Whereas during the Bush presidency the anti-Iraq War marches of February 14-16 2003 were much bigger outside the US than within America. In London and Madrid, over a million people turned out to protest against Bush’s proposed war. More than 100,000 participated in demonstrations in Berlin, Sydney, Athens, Barcelona, Seville and Paris. The largest US march was in New York City, where around 100,000 turned out to oppose the war – a number similar to that in the much less populous cities of Lisbon and Dublin.
"...Obama’s urbane and worldly personality challenged the stereotype of all Americans being warmongering, insular and nativist. Even the election of Trump has not entirely washed out this new understanding of America from the collective consciousness of non-Americans. In the years since Bush left the Oval Office, a more nuanced view of America and Americans has become more predominant."
Comments
Post a Comment