As much of the Western world recoils from Donald Trump’s return to the White House, India’s reaction looks strikingly different. The Munich Security Report 2026 presents Indian public opinion on US President Donald Trump as distinct from that of most Western democracies, marked by relatively higher approval of his policies, rising concern about US economic coercion, and declining belief in the necessity of US global leadership.Around 38% of Indian respondents agreed that Trump’s policies were good for India, and approximately 36% agreed they were good for the world. These levels of agreement are significantly higher than in Canada, France, Germany, and Japan, where agreement typically remains in the low teens
What the report says
According to the MSI, India ranks among the more favorable countries when respondents were asked whether “Donald Trump’s policies are good for my country” and “good for the world.”The report noted that Indian respondents were less critical of Trump than Western public and more likely to express conditional or partial approval of his approach, even when uncertainty remains about its global impact.While Indian views of Trump’s geopolitical impact were comparatively less negative, the report recorded greater concern regarding his economic policies. Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on India. With the recent India-US trade deal, the additional 25% tariffs was brought down to 18%.The report stated that the US risk score for India increased by 18 points between 2024 and 2025, the largest increase recorded among all risks in the Indian profile. Despite this rise, the US did not rank among India’s top perceived threats; China remained a higher concern, while Russia was viewed as comparatively low risk.The findings are based on the Munich Security Index (MSI), which surveys public attitudes across G7 and major Global South countries.
Era of ‘wrecking-ball politics’
The report framed Trump as a central figure in what it called an era of “wrecking-ball politics,” characterized by challenges to multilateral institutions and the post-1945 liberal order. In the Indian case, the report highlighted long-standing skepticism toward the Western “rules-based order,” which policymakers have criticized for selective application and double standards.The report cited external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s assessment that the existing order has often appeared “anarchic and permeated by double standards” from a Global South perspective. Within this context, the report suggested that Trump’s challenge to established institutions was not uniformly perceived as negative in India.
