Al-Monitor/Premise poll finds Biden's unpopularity in Mideast makes room for China, Russia to outshine US
Washington’s influence remains potent despite its perceived disengagement from the Middle East, but Russia and China are eagerly finding gaps to fill.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently more than twice as popular as US President Joe Biden in key Middle Eastern countries, according to a new Al-Monitor/Premise poll, offering a view of how America’s beleaguered brand is suffering amid outrage over Washington’s support for Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive, particularly in Egypt.
That said, a multitude of factors could be influencing opinions, and our survey results paint a complicated picture of public attitudes around great power competition in the Middle East and their implications for their future political and economic ties as well as opportunities and challenges for multinationals.
The Global Politics Survey, which polled 2,670 respondents across Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia and Turkey, was conducted by Al-Monitor in partnership with data and analytics firm Premise between March 4 and March 22, 2024. When asked which world leader respondents view most favorably between Putin, Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a plurality of 44.4% chose Russia’s leader, compared to 21.7% for America’s commander in chief. For context, an October 2023 poll by the Arab American Institute found Biden’s support among Arab American voters had fallen from 59% in 2020 to just 17%.
Meanwhile, Xi’s favorability cut the difference at 33.8%. Looking closer, Putin proved most popular (51.6%) in Egypt, a historic ally of Moscow, and least popular in Iraq (35.5%). Xi’s support was consistent across all countries. Biden was most popular in Iraq (29.2%) and least in Egypt (13.2%). Notably, there appeared to be a gender divide, with men gravitating to Putin and women leaning toward Xi.
