LONDON — Trust in the United States among Britons has dropped sharply over the past 12 months, according to new public opinion research released Thursday.
The latest annual survey by think tank the British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG) found that the proportion of Brits who say they trust America to act responsibly in the world has dropped from 53 percent in 2024 to just 38 percent in 2025.
Some 41 percent of Brits overall said they now distrust the U.S., compared to 26 percent in 2024. The stark changes follow a tumultuous year in American politics, including the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January.
The U.S. president’s actions were seen by Brits surveyed for the study as posing greater threat to national security (33 percent) than terrorism (32 percent) or the rise of China (25 percent).
Just 31 percent of Brits now see the U.S. as the country’s closest ally— a 23 percentage point drop from 54 percent in 2024. By contrast, the proportion of Brits who viewed the European Union as Britain’s closest ally rose significantly — from 17 percent in 2024 to 29 percent in 2025.
Six years after Brexit, 62 percent of Brits said they felt the the U.K. should move closer to the European Union as a result of Trump’s actions. The polling company J.L. Partners surveyed a representative sample of 2,132 people between May 27 and 29 for the BFPG.