New Delhi: A new Pew Research Center survey has revealed that 40% of US adults say they have not heard of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Among those who did express an opinion of Modi, 37% had little or no confidence in his ability to do the right thing regarding world affairs.
While 59% of Americans between the ages of 18 to 29 said that they have never heard of Modi, only 28% of those 65 and older said so. Among Republicans and Democrats alike, pluralities say they have not heard of Modi, India’s prime minister since 2014.
The survey, conducted from March 20 to 26, asked the American public about their confidence in seven world leaders to do the right thing regarding global affairs.
While 40% of the respondents had never heard of Modi, another 35% had not heard of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and around a quarter had not heard of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (26%) or French President Emmanuel Macron (24%).
Photo: Pew Research Center
The survey also showed that Americans express more confidence in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy than in any of the other six world leaders. More than half the US adults (56%) have at least some confidence in Zelenskyy to “do the right thing” regarding world affairs but only 21% of American adults feel the same about Modi.
The two leaders about whom the Americans have even lower confidence than Modi are Chinese President Xi Jinping (8%) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (7%). Americans see Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, more negatively than positively: 42% have no confidence in him, while 32% have confidence.