German public trust in the United States has taken a severe beating since President Donald Trump came to power. A recent poll has indicated that Germans have little faith in the new American administration and want the European Union to strengthen its bonds in order to stand up to Trump.

As many as 1,006 people were asked for their views about the US and other countries in a DeutschlandTrend survey conducted by pollster Infratest dimap for ARD public television and only 22% of the respondents said they trusted America to be a worthy partner. The trust level has witnessed a sizeable fall of 37 percentage points when compared to a poll conducted in November before the US elections.

The trustworthiness of Russia was almost the same as that of the US, at 21% whereas only 4% of those who took the survey indicated trust in Turkey.

Following his various controversial executive orders in his first two weeks in office, 69% of respondents disapproved while only 26 individuals expressed positive opinions of his attempts to fulfil his campaign promises.

Some 80% want the European Union member nations to improve ties with each other so that they can put up a united front against Trump.

Around two-thirds of the 1,000-plus who took part in the poll voiced concerns that the US president's foreign policies could hit the German economy.

(The poll was conducted between 30 and 31 January with a margin of error of 1.4 to 2.1%)