With his stunning election triumph, US president-elect Donald Trump has emblazoned his name in golden letters on the brand of the US.
The superpower of soft power that produces much of the world’s most-loved music, movies and technology on Tuesday chose a president who is wildly unpopular in close US allies. Trump’s surprise election could have far-reaching effects for the US image with potential consequences for firms, universities and tourism.
Still, the extent of Trump’s impact remains to be seen.
The harsh tone of the campaign and the protests that followed Trump’s victory, undercut that message this time, said Nicholas Cull, a professor of public diplomacy at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School.
“I think it’s unsettling to audiences around the world, especially as part of Trump’s approach is to be tough and to be rude around foreigners — saying he is going to teach China a lesson, or that China has been ‘raping’ the American economy, or to say that NATO allies are not pulling their weight,” Cull said.
“However, on the other side of that, I think people around the world are not stupid and they recognize an American version of a kind of politics that is occurring in many countries,” said Cull, referring to the rise of populist leaders.
The foreign image of the US has shifted sharply in the recent past. Outside much of the Islamic world, strong majorities in major countries have consistently seen the US favorably since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to annual surveys by the Pew Research Center.
The enduring popularity of the US under its first African-American president was a marked change after wide criticism of the country among European allies following former US president George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.
Trump, who has boasted of forcing himself on women and has no experience in government, has an abysmally low image in much of the world, with Russia a rare exception.
The drag on the US image could be particularly acute to the travel and tourism industry, which has been growing steadily with help from the marketing firm Brand USA, set up under a 2010 law.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was