Donald Trump’s second Presidency has collapsed British trust in the US while the EU is increasingly viewed as Britain’s most reliable trading partner according to a new report published today.
The study, based on a YouGov poll of more than 4,000 people for Best for Britain, found a majority (56%) now say they distrust America, versus just one in five (21%) who say they trust the US, the pollsters found.
This compares to almost a third (30%) of people who said they trusted America in November 2024, in the weeks following Trump’s re-election, versus two in five (40%) who said they distrusted the US at that stage.
The US ‘net trust’, as described in the report, dropped by 25 percentage points, from -10 in November 2024, to -35 when asked in September 2025. Over the same period, trust in the EU remained consistent.
The report further reveals that the number who identify the EU as Britain's most reliable partner has grown while the number saying the same for the US has slumped.
Asked in November 2024, the US and EU were neck and neck with a third (33% and 32% respectively) identifying either as “the UK’s most reliable international partner”.
Ten months later, the EU emerges as the firm favourite, with almost twice as many (42%) saying they are the UK’s most dependable ally compared to those who chose Trump’s America (22%).
The EU is also seen as a far more important trading partner, with over half (51%) of people rating it number one, compared to just one in five (21%) saying the US, with similar numbers reported in 2024.
Previous research by Best for Britain also found that 72% of people thought the UK was heading in the wrong direction. Of these, almost a quarter (24%) cited Trump as the person, group or organisation most responsible.
Among those intending to vote for Labour, the portion blaming Trump almost doubles (44%) with a similar number of Green (46%) and Liberal Democrat intending voters (43%) feeling the same, while almost a quarter (22%) of Conservative supporters share this view.
Naomi Smith, Chief Executive of Best for Britain, which campaigns for closer UK-EU ties, said:
“British people are wide awake to the risk Donald Trump’s authoritarian and chaotic approach poses to the global order - and rightly no longer place their full trust in an increasingly volatile United States.
“Voters have repeatedly told us they expect the government to work pragmatically with our most reliable and important trading partner - Europe - to improve the economy, get bills down and ensure our collective security. Labour needs to pick up the pace with Brussels or risk being punished by an electorate still feeling the cost of living squeeze at the next election.”
Sir Kim Darroch, former British Ambassador to the United States, said:
“President Trump’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been deeply inconsistent. He has at times threatened stronger sanctions on Putin’s Russia; but at other times appeared to blame Ukraine and pressed them to capitulate.
“He has been similarly inconsistent on the US commitment to NATO and the principle of collective defence. All of this makes it crucial and urgent that the Government accelerates work on the reset with the EU and especially the proposed Security and Defence Partnership.”