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We’re no Switzerland, but hey, it isn’t nearly as bad inside U.S. borders as those cable news channels might have you believe.
In fact, things have actually improved lately, at least perception-wise, according to a recent U.S. News & World Report ranking of the best countries on the planet. The U.S. moved up one spot to No. 8 on the list — that’s just ahead of Sweden but behind the U.K. Switzerland’s at the top.
Wharton marketing professor David Reibstein, who began the rankings five years ago in partnership with U.S. News & World Report and marketing consulting firm BAV Group, explained in a recent podcast what has to be a surprising global uptick, particularly for those in the #NeverTrump camp.
Here’s his reasoning:
‘They see our economy and the vibrancy of what’s going on, and the unemployment and how it has dropped, and they think things have got to be pretty good here.’
The University of Pennsylvania professor said he finds that surprising, given what the study tells him about how Americans are feeling these days.
“Part of my surprise is that I live here in the United States,” he said. “And one of the things that I’ve done with the data is…looked at how Americans feel about the U.S., and actually the internal perception is down.”
The ‘internal perception’ has played a big role what has, until now, been a steady decline from where the U.S. was first placed on this survey — at number 4. After Trump was elected, the U.S. began a steady slide following the divisive campaign.
“I believe a great part of that was because of the contentiousness that we have, and we’re not keeping our dirt under the covers,” Reibstein said. “It’s very, very visibly displayed for the world to see, and that has an impact on perceptions.”
Now, while he believes America’s image has stabilized, Kevin Drew, the report’s assistant managing editor, says there are plenty of questions surrounding whether that improving perception will last.
“The country enters 2020 with a presidential election coming in November that will draw heavy public attention around the world,” Drew wrote. “The most pressing question is whether Donald Trump will win re-election. Both his policies and his rhetoric have raised questions around the world about the nation’s future course on the global stage.”
