Most Americans say U.S. should be world's moral leader; far fewer say it is
www.ipsos.com

...A significant gap has emerged between Americans' aspirations and current assessments regarding U.S. moral leadership, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll. While three in five Americans agree the U.S. should be the moral leader of the world, only 39% believe it actually is. This shift reflects a significant decline in perceived standing from a 2017 NPR/Ipsos Poll. ...

1. Americans see a gap between moral leadership aspirations and current state of affairs.

While 61% of Americans agree the United States should be the moral leader of the world, only 39% believe it actually is.

This represents a significant shift from 2017, when 60% believed America was the moral leader, marking a 21-percentage point

Partisan differences are pronounced: 64% of Republicans believe the U.S. is the moral leader, compared to only 24% of Democrats and 35% of Independents.

2. Half of Americans believe the U.S. is losing global influence, while even more say China has made gains.

Half of Americans (50%) say the U.S. has been losing influence over the past five years, compared with just 21% who say it has gained influence; 24% say its level of influence has stayed about the same.

Views on America's standing are deeply polarized by party: 72% of Democrats say the U.S. is losing influence compared to just 26% of Republicans.