A majority of Australians, Japanese and Indians believe US President Donald Trump’s second term has been bad for their countries, and more Australians see the US as harmful than helpful in Asia, a survey of people in the four countries reported on Thursday.
The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney polled 1,000 people in each of the four Quad nations: Australia, Japan, India, and the US. It found the region is shaken by disruptive US developments but still backs coordinated security responses to security challenges.
The poll, taken in August, found 56 per cent of Australians, 54 per cent of Indians and 59 per cent of Japanese think Trump’s presidency has been bad for their countries.
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Only 42 per cent of Australians said the US alliance made their country more secure, a 14-point decrease since 2024 and the first time support has dropped below a majority since the centre’s polling began in 2022.
The number of Japanese respondents who said the US alliance made them more secure fell by 5 percentage points from a year ago to only 47 per cent.
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“All four countries are deeply concerned about domestic political violence and misinformation in the United States, and Australians and Indians are more likely to see the United States as harmful rather than helpful in Asia,” the report said.