The Uvalde school shooting and the end of Roe v. Wade took a devastating toll on Europe's view of the U.S., Morning Consult found.
Why it matters: America's brand rose sharply in Western Europe following Washington's strong response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But those reputational gains were quickly undone.
Driving the news: In the two weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, favorability toward the U.S. in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain — the five largest European economies — jumped 9%, Morning Consult found.
- Favorability toward the U.S. then stayed above its pre-invasion levels, remaining at around 25% through late May.
- But the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 and the Supreme Court's June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade sent European views' plummeting.
- Net favorability dropped to around 11% in early July, per the poll.
Between the lines: "While it is hard to draw a causal link between these events and Europeans’ views, the timing leaves little room for ambiguity," Morning Consult notes.
- European leaders — and other leaders around the world — were outraged by the mass shooting in Uvalde and many condemned in sharp language the Supreme Court's abortion ruling.
- At the very least, the data underscores the extent to which events taking place at home can shape America's overseas image, per Morning Consult.
Methodology: The Morning Consult Political Intelligence draws from daily reports that are based on pooled 7-day moving averages of all adults in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, with a margin of error of less than ± 1 percentage point.
