A new poll conducted for The Australia Institute reveals that more than half of Australian voters believe Donald Trump is a greater threat to global security than Russian President Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The YouGov poll of 1502 people found more than more than twice as many (59%) Australians now believe Australia’s interests are better served by a more independent foreign policy rather than a closer alliance with the United States (23%). Just one in eight (13%) Australians believe the US is a “very reliable” security ally.
The poll shows a further erosion of confidence in the US under President Trump. A year ago, a similar poll found that 31% of Australians believed Trump was a greater threat to world peace than Putin (27%) and Xi (27%).
Now, 52% feel that Trump is a bigger threat than Putin (17%) and Xi (16%).
Key findings:
More One Nation voters (35%) believe Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than Putin (18%), and about the same number think Xi is the biggest threat (32%).
One third (33%) of Australians now believe the AUKUS security agreement is not in Australia’s best interests.
68% of Australians, including 53% of One Nation voters, oppose Australia’s involvement in the US and Israel’s war on Iran.
The social forces that resulted in the trump presidency won’t go away. He’s not a political aberration. He’s the culmination of decades of grievance, which accelerated after the GFC. He’s the wrong solution of course, much like one nation is the wrong solution to Australia’s problems.