International Public Opinion about the US Presidential Election

On January 20, the United States will transition from the presidency of Joseph R. Biden to Donald Trump.  This represents only the second time in history that the US president will have served a second non-consecutive term. 

President-elect Trump has proposed changes in a variety of areas of policy, including many concerning relationships with other countries.  Of particular importance are various policies related to the two countries bordering the US – Canada and Mexico – with proposals for increased border security, deportation of unauthorized migrants, and significant tariffs. European nations may also be significantly impacted by increased tariffs as well as changes in support for defense and security agreements such as NATO.

How dd the publics of these nations think of the coming presidential transition? What are their general hopes, apprehensions, and general thoughts?   This WAPOR webinar will explore public opinion in Mexico, Canada, and Europe toward the US.  We will be joined by a team of experts talking about both historical trends in public opinion, recent polling data, and thoughts about the future direction of public opinion. 

Michael Adams (Environics) will discuss Canadian public opinion, Francisco Abundis-Luna (Parametria) will discuss Mexican public opinion, and Nicolas Bécuwe (Verian) will discuss public opinion in Europe. Chase Harrison (Harvard University) will moderate.

Michael Adams co-founded the Environics Research Group, one of Canada’s leading marketing and public opinion research firms, in 1970 and served as the company’s president for many years. He currently serves as president of the non-profit Environics Institute for Survey Research, which he founded in 2006. The Institute conducts survey research to help Canadians better understand themselves and their changing society. He is the author of seven bestselling books and many articles on public opinion, attitudes and social values, including Fire and Ice: The United States, Canada and the Myth of Converging Values (2003). Fire and Ice won the Donner Prize as best book on public policy and was selected by the Literary Review of Canada as one of the 100 most important books ever published in the country. He holds an Honours B.A. in Political Science from Queen’s University (1969) and a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Toronto (1970). In 2009, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Ryerson University in Toronto. In 2016, he was awarded the Order of Canada, the country’s highest domestic honour.

Francisco Abundis Luna is the Associate Director of Parametría SA de CV. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. He has also completed studies in quantitative research at the University of Michigan, the U.S. Political System at the University of California, and earned a Bachelor’s degree from El Colegio de México. His research focuses on social psychology, public opinion, and electoral behavior. He has been a research professor at CIDE, a guest lecturer at ITAM, and a professor at Universidad Iberoamericana. Francisco has participated in international conferences such as WAPOR, MAPOR, and SESM. He has worked as a consultant for federal and local governments, political parties, and organizations including the World Bank, British Council, and UNESCO. He regularly contributes to media discussions on social and political issues from a public opinion perspective. His publications include works on citizen participation, electoral surveys, and public opinion, appearing in journals like the International Journal of Public Opinion Research and Revista Política y Gobierno CIDE.

Nicolas Becuwe is a Senior Director and Head of the International Election Team at Verian Group. With over fifteen years of experience in cross-national research, he is an expert on European public opinion matters and European Union politics. He has been successfully delivering large-scale evidence-based projects for the EU institutions over the past decade including the recent European elections’ night in 2024 for the European Parliament.