Trump Effect

Most Young Arabs Now View U.S. as an Enemy, Says Survey

More than 70% say Trump has had a negative effect on their countries.

More than half of young Arabs now view the U.S. as an enemy, according to an annual survey of 18- to 24-year-olds in 16 Arab states, with over two-thirds telling pollsters they believe President Donald Trump has had a negative effect on their countries. The latest Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey reveals 57 percent of those surveyed this year see the U.S. as an enemy, with only 35 percent considering the U.S. an ally—an almost complete reversal of the numbers from 2016. Seventy-three percent of Arab youth surveyed said Trump’s election has hurt their countries. Elsewhere in the survey, it’s revealed 55 percent of young Arabs believe their region has moved in the wrong direction in the last 10 years, compared to 40 percent that felt it had gone in the right direction, and that 88 percent of those surveyed said the Islamic State terror group had had a negative impact. Fifty-six percent said the Arab Spring had been a negative. The annual survey is conducted with 3,500 face-to-face interviews with young Arabs between ages 18 and 24.