G20 Countries Look To Merkel, Not Trump To Lead -- Except For Russia & India

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As leaders from 20 of the world’s largest economies are landing in Germany this week for the Group of Twenty (G20) summit, member country citizens have more confidence in the summit’s host – German Chancellor Angela Merkel – than in U.S. President Donald Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

In seven G20 countries – Germany, France, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Australia – two-thirds or more of the public say they have confidence in Merkel.

Only three counties are more confident in Trump than Merkel: South Africa (-1), India (-17) and Russia (-22). Why are we not surprised that Trump's biggest showing against Merkel is in Russia?

Bottom line, even in America, more people have confidence in Merkel (56%) than in Trump (46%). (Note rounding errors). You can count AOC in the crowd that prefers, trusts and respects Merkel far more than Trump. In our minds, they don't even breathe the same air. ~ Anne

Why Hillary Didn't Carry White Women In The Presidential Election

We've been talking about the new PRRI/The Atlantic research on white working class voters who preferred Trump to Hillary 2 to 1. Much has been made of Hillary's failure to carry white women without a college degree. This research provides tons of answers, but one really sticks out to me:

Overall, white working-class Americans make up one-third (33%) of the adult public, a substantially larger share than white Americans with at least a four-year college education (22%).

In no region do white working-class Americans comprise a larger proportion of the population than in the Midwest, where they account for more than four in ten (43%) Americans.

This link covers all the research questions and answers, but the one on 'Yearning for a Leader Willing to Break the Rules" sticks out.

"Authoritarian-style leadership is much more attractive to white working-class Americans than to white college-educated Americans. Six in ten (60%) white working-class Americans, compared to only 32% of white college-educated Americans say we need such a strong leader; two-thirds (67%) of white college-educated Americans disagree."

58% of working class white men now express an authoritarian orientation, which is disconcerting to Democrats and progressives, Independents and true conservatives. But on the subject of Hillary Clinton not winning the white working class women's vote, 71% of those women prefer an authoritarian leader.

No one ever accused Hillary Clinton of being an authoritarian like Trump. I believe this stat about women in particular, because the most amazing research out of Baylor University in 2010 was done on America's Four Gods. Well over 150,000 people -- including many of us back then -- took the online survey, which had dramatic results around different visions of God.

The fourth vision of God -- one that I scored in believing -- is a non-gender spiritual energy force in the universe. Fully 25% of Americans embraced God #4, but get this -- it was 98% male who believe that God has no gender. American women believe that God is male -- except for Lisa and me, and a few other brave women with enlightened brains.

When I read the book and then took the online test, I said feminism is sunk in America if 98% of women believe that God is always watching them (more questions) and God is a he.

So to read this stat about white working class women having a stronger authoritarian impulse than men tells me that Hillary stood very little chance of getting their vote.

There are many interesting answers about the Trump voters, including large numbers believe we already have too many women in political office, even though we rank like 90th in the world. America is just not the progressive country we flatter ourselves to be and 'yes', our belief silos are worse than ever. ~ Anne