OREANDA-NEWS. Public confidence in the United States and other leading Western countries in NATO has "plummeted" since Donald Trump is at the head of the White House. This was reported on Monday by an American business newspaper, citing a study by the Pew Research Center.

From 2017 to 2019, the number of those who have a positive attitude towards NATO fell by an average of 10 percentage points in the United States, France, and Germany, the authors of a report released on the eve of the Munich Security Conference (February 14-16) found out. Currently, 53% of respondents in 16 countries - members of the alliance indicated that they generally have a positive attitude towards the bloc. About a negative attitude towards him said 27%.

Moreover, on average, 50% of respondents in 16 countries - members of the alliance - opposed the implementation of one of the basic principles of NATO - article 5 of the organization’s charter, according to which an attack on one of the countries is considered as aggression against the entire bloc.

Most respondents - an average of 60% - are convinced that it is the United States that should use military force to defend a NATO ally from Russia, and 29% advocate joint action by the alliance countries against the alleged aggressor.