Half of Britons are favourable towards President-elect Biden and expect him to use the US’s influence for good

In a new survey by Ipsos, half of Britons (49%) are favourable towards the incoming President of the United States, Joe Biden, only 18% view him negatively. A similar proportion (47%) expect the USA to use its influence around the world mostly for good over the next four years under Biden’s presidency. 

Biden’s running mate is viewed just as positively, with 44% favourable and 14% unfavourable towards Kamala Harris. 

The outgoing President, Donald Trump is not seen so positively. Perhaps unsurprising given the events of the last few weeks, three-quarters (74%) of Britons have an unfavourable view of Mr Trump while only 13% see him positively. Half of Britons believe the US has used its influence around the world mostly for bad over the past four years (48%).

More Britons believe there is a special relationship between the US and the UK. Over half (51%) now say there is a special relationship, up from 43% when last asked in April 2016. 

Keiran Pedley, Research Director at Ipsos, said:

These numbers show that the British public is more positive about the prospect of a Biden presidency than it was about the reality of a Trump one.  Biden’s net favourability with Britons stands at +31 compared to Trump’s -61. Meanwhile, whilst 48% of Britons felt the US used its influence mostly for bad under Trump, just 10% expect the same for a Biden presidency; with 47% expecting the US to use its influence mostly for good.

Technical note

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,021 British adults aged 16-75. Interviews were conducted online from 19th-20th January 2021. Data are weighted to match the profile of the UK population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.