Marketplace points to signs that, far from Making America Great Again, King Don is damaging America’s global reputation:
1) The number of new international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities dropped by 17% this fall.
2) Levi’s, the denim company, listed “rising anti-Americanism” as a risk to its business in a regulatory filing in the U.K. earlier this year.
3) American companies, including McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, have recently launched ad campaigns downplaying their American roots [Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst, “A Check-In on the American Brand,” Marketplace, 2025.11.20].
U.K.-based Anholt & Co. polls 40,000 people in 20 countries to gauge the strength of “national brands”. Brand USA is at an all-time low:
Between 2005 and 2016, the United States topped the index each year, but fell dramatically from 1st to 7th place following the election of Donald J Trump. From 2017 until 2024, the image of the U.S. vacillated between 6th and 10th place but following Trump’s re-election in 2025 dropped to an unprecedented 14th place. It now lies between Austria and New Zealand in the overall NBI ranking; Japan and Germany retain their 1st and 2nd positions in the index [Anholt & Co., press release, 2025.10.15].
Meanwhile, Canada has burnished its brand by standing up to Trump and standing for what used to boost America’s reputation:
During the same period, Canada has risen from 6th to 3rd place, replacing Italy, with nearly a third of respondents worldwide reporting that their views of Canada had become more positive since 2024. Canada’s stance against Donald Trump was frequently mentioned, with many respondents expressing admiration for the country’s courage, independence, and resolute political position during trade and political conflicts [Anholt & Co., 2025.10.15].
Now that we’ve rendered ourselves less great, we can actually make good on King Don’s ball-cap slogan… by following Canada and behaving more like America again.
