Washington (AP) – Americans are less likely to see Canada and the United States as close allies than they were two years ago, the last indication that President Donald Donald Trump pricing And talk about taking over A neighboring ally Blow a critical economic and military relationship.
The change in American point of view comes mainly from Democrats, although Republicans are less likely to see Canada as the ally of America now, according to a new survey of The Associated Press-Noc Center for Public Affairs Research. While around 7 out of 10 democrats saw Canada and the United States as close allies before Trump returns to the job, now this number is half half. For Republicans, the number increased from 55% to 44%.
Although most of them still consider the relationships of countries as at least “friendly”, a little less than half of us, adults, now consider the United States as “nearby allies” with its neighbor in the North. It is down compared to around 6 out of 10 in a Pearson Institute / AP-Noc survey led in September 2023.
“He turns everyone against us,” deplored Lynn Huster, 73, an lifelong democrat who lives in York, Pennsylvania. Huster says that she was dismayed by Trump’s actions and how they affected relations with other allies, including the United Kingdom.
“Canada,” she said, “our friends, you know, they supported us. And some of the other countries, the United Kingdom, they no longer want us. And it is sad that our country is only held if something happens. ”
The survey comes when Trump has radically realized foreign policy in the United States and American relations since his return to his functions.
He has Gifs scanning rate on goods Made in Canada, Mexico and China, and this week Adding a 25% tax on imported cars. Next week, he says he will set up “Reciprocal” taxes Reflecting the prices charged by other nations – a decision he calls “Liberation Day”.
Beyond economic threats, Trump has annoyed and depreciated historical partners, notably the one with which the United States shared a 5,500-mile border (8,900 kilometers). He threatened Canada’s sovereignty, To say that this should become the 51st state of the countryAnd has repeatedly labeled his “governor” Prime Minister.
His movements triggered Deep feelings of betrayal Everywhere in Canada, where the American-Canadian relationship has been seen for the family for a long time. The US national anthem was hooked in Canadian arenas and American alcohols were stripped of Canadian shelves.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose The party’s fortune was relaunched By taking a hard line against Trump, said on Thursday that the United States was no longer a reliable partner “and that Canadians were now to” watch ourselves “.
Shaya Scher, 35, a republican who lives in New Jersey, argues that Trump’s rhetoric towards Canada is largely boastful.
“I think he is doing it right to panic them so that they can get an agreement,” said Scher.
He believes that an agreement will eventually occur and that the tensions will argue.
“I think that at the end of the day, they are still allies,” he said. “Under the hood, we are always allies, and if something presents itself, we will always be allies.”
Others, however, were more discouraged.
“He sabotes decades of goodwill by having prices on foreign steel and foreign cars and foreign flowers,” said Scott Cunningham, 69, a democrat who lives in South Bend, Indiana. “The prices will really harm relations – trade relations, personal relationships – after having been allies for decades. You do something like that, I’m going to remember.”
About 3 out of 10 Americans consider Canada as “friendly but not a close ally”, while about 2 out of 10 say that the two countries are “not friendly but not enemies”. Very few consider them as pure and simple “enemies”.
Cunningham characterized the current American relationship with Canada as “not friendly but not enemies”.
“We are not friends because of prices and wanting him to take over the country. This is not going well,” he said. “It’s very tense right now.”
Regarding the rest of the world, the AP-Noc survey has found that around half of us, adults see the United Kingdom as an ally of the United States, but only about 3 out of 10 say the same thing on France and Germany. About 4 out of 10 say that the European Union is a close ally.
Almost no American considers neither Russia or China as a close ally. About a third, say that China is an enemy of the United States, and a similar part thinks of Russia. Republicans are less likely to see Russia as a threat. Only about a third of the Republicans consider Russia as an enemy of the United States, against around 4 out of 10 Democrats.
Trent Ramsaran, 37, a freelancer who lives in Brooklyn, New York, said that many European leaders from traditional American allies have clearly contradictory opinions with Trump, in particular immigration.
“I am starting to see the model where it seems that all these allies of Quote-Unquote are in favor of ensuring that immigrants take control of the country,” he said. “His vision is really not the same as these allies. He therefore says that these allies are not on the same wavelength.”
But Ramsaran said that he was not at all worried about the United States, one day, he needs allies he had alienated, given how the country spends for defense and high-tech weapons.
“If America ended up being attacked, I am completely convinced that we do not need the help of our allies to defend this country,” he said. “We have Tom Cruise. He can teach people how to fight in “Top Gun”. “
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Colvin reported to New York.
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The AP-Noc survey with 1,229 adults was carried out from March 20 to 24, using a sample from the Amerispeak panel based on the probability of NORC, which is designed to be representative of the American population. The sampling margin for adults as a whole is more or less 3.9 percentage points.
