7 in 10 Britons hold an unfavourable opinion of Donald Trump

• 7 in 10 hold a positive view of former US President Barack Obama but British public are less favourable to President Joe Biden, compared to when he assumed office
• 52% think it is unlikely Trump will be the next President
• Two in five think there is still a special relationship between the USA and Great Britain

New polling by Ipsos in the UK, taken 18-21 November 2022, taken after Donald Trump announced his intention to stand for President again in 2024, shows that Trump remains unpopular with the public, and they think it is unlikely that he will be the next President of the United States.

When asked how likely or unlikely it is that Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States, over half (52%) think it is unlikely, while 21% think it is likely. 18-34-year-olds are more divided than older age groups, with just under a third saying it is likely (31%), compared to two in five saying unlikely (39%). This is much more divided than among 35-54-year-olds (17% likely, 52% unlikely) and 55-75-year-olds (14% likely, 67% unlikely).

Meanwhile Donald Trump remains unpopular among the general public. Seven in ten (70%) are unfavourable towards him whilst 13% have a favourable opinion of the former President. 14% say they have neither a favourable nor unfavourable opinion of him. These findings are comparable to Trump’s ratings after he left office in January 2021 (13% favourable, 11% neither favourable nor unfavourable, 74% unfavourable). 

The public are now less sure on how they feel about Joe Biden, compared to when he assumed office in January 2021. Over a quarter (28%) have a favourable opinion of him (-21pts), while a quarter hold an unfavourable opinion towards him (+8pts). Two in five (42%) have neither a favourable nor unfavourable opinion of Biden, up considerably on his rating in January 2021 (+14pts).

By contrast the public are clear in their favourability towards former President, Barack Obama. Seven in ten (69%) hold a favourable opinion of the former president, compared to one in ten who have an unfavourable opinion (11%). 17% say they hold neither a favourable nor unfavourable opinion of Obama

The special relationship

Meanwhile, Britons are more likely to agree that there is a special relationship between the United States and Britain than disagree by a more than two to one margin. More than two in five (43%) agree that there is a special relationship, compared to fewer than one in five (19%) who disagree. The proportion of the public who agree that there is a special relationship is down slightly on when the question was asked in January 2021 (51% agreed and 21% disagreed) but is comparable to April 2016 (43% agree and 20% disagree).

Keiran Pedley, Director of Political Research, said:

This data shows that Britons have diametrically opposite views of former US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. President Obama is viewed positively by 7 in 10 Britons whilst the same number have negative views of President Trump. Meanwhile, President Biden’s ratings have taken a slide in Britain since he took office, perhaps reflecting that the initial positive views held were more about Donald Trump being gone rather than any explicit enthusiasm about Biden himself.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,084 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus 18th-21st November 2022. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.