The Global Retreat of Trump-Era Populism

Commentators note that the political model championed by former President Donald Trump is losing ground worldwide. Polls cited in the analysis place Trump’s approval at roughly 37 percent, a low point for either of his terms. In Brazil, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated the right-wing candidate favored by Trump, Flávio Bolsonaro, by 52 percent to 48 percent. In Argentina, President Javier Milei’s inflation rate fell from 25 percent to under 2 percent, yet about six in ten Argentines still view him unfavorably. Israel’s right-wing bloc led by Benjamin Netanyahu fell short of the 61 seats needed for a governing majority, while the party remains under a corruption trial. These outcomes illustrate a broader pattern of defeats for leaders once aligned with Trump’s agenda.

Newsweek

Across Europe, formerly buoyant nationalist forces are receding. Nigel Farage’s Reform U.K. party, which once led Labour by seven points, has slipped to third place behind the Conservatives. Public opinion now shows a two-to-one majority of Britons deem Brexit a mistake, and an Ipsos survey reports 68 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds would vote to rejoin the European Union (EU), though concerns about losing the pound or Schengen persist. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, a longtime ally of Trump, lost power after 16 years, with the pro-EU Tisza party securing a two-thirds majority. Sweden ousted a right-wing government, and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni remains embroiled in disputes with Trump over Iran and Greenland. In France, Marine Le Pen, cleared by an appeals court, polls at roughly one-third of the first-round vote, while Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) captured almost 44 percent in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election. These parties have increasingly kept Trump at arm’s length.

Newsweek

The analysis warns that the upcoming November 3 midterm elections could deliver a “near-mortal blow” to Trump’s influence in Washington, with Democrats favored to win the House and possibly narrow the Senate. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this year found 61 percent of Americans support deporting illegal immigrants, even as many reject Trump’s methods, suggesting policy preferences persist while his style wanes.

Newsweek

While Trump retains two years in office and can still shape executive actions, the article argues that his global allies now face electoral accountability for their records. The declining momentum of “Trumpism” abroad may limit the movement’s ability to replicate its earlier successes, leaving the 2028 election as an open question for the cause without its original leader.

Newsweek