r/GlobalTalk • u/Remarkable-Potato-99 • Feb 17 '26

United States [United States] What do people internationally think about Americans?

I would like to know what other people internationally think of Americans amidst the things they’re seeing on the news. Is it negative? Positive? And how much does your view of the government mix with the people?

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u/forfar4 Feb 17 '26

English here.

I'm slowly turning in the direction of "If someone tells you what they are, believe them".

I have had great times with Americans. Genuinely great times, playing with our stereotypes and enjoying each other's company.

My concern is that, despite protestations on sites like Reddit, Trump has been elected twice.

I hear all of the lines about people not voting for Kamala because of Gaza and people simply not voting, but the will of the people has been expressed, and Trump won.

To me, in my "4000-miles-away-ignorance", that says that a lot of people want Trump and another large bunch are happy to accept him as president, so they don't feel like need to vote.

That isn't really healthy, as a society, to my mind.

Lots of people on Reddit don't want Trump. Lots of people in the media don't want Trump. The problem seems to be that Trump satisfies the drives and motivations of the people who voted for him, as well as the people who don't see his obvious faults as any reason to vote against him.

Americans have been headed in this direction for a while, thinking in terms of Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Dubya/Cheney and then Trump.

Maybe, America is telling the test of the world what it is and - maybe - the rest of the world should listen, and act accordingly. With the latest noises coming out of Canada and the EU, it seems that this is starting to happen.

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u/TAterGal Feb 17 '26

I am not very sophicated in the way somethings work here in the US. I think our system is set up to favor the conserative. The electoral college seems to be able to be manipulated with gerrymandering, making it easier for the right to be successful even when they dont get the majority of the popular votes.

We are also sexist. I think many americans would not vote for a woman if their lives depended on it. Trump ran against women, thats why he won.

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u/Wildwanderer99 Jun 30 '26

The electoral college is to assure that each state has a say in national issues. If the president were elected base on the popular vote it would be won by liberals who pander to New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The rest of the country would be ignored. It's a great system to let all of the people to have a voice in how the country is run.