Europeans' trust in the United States has nosedived since Donald Trump became president, with the vast majority unable to call Washington an ally, according to a survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations, or ECFR.

The independent think tank that aims to promote a stronger Europe found in its polling that the continent that saw the US as a liberator after World War II now sees it as an unreliable partner and a good reason to boost self-reliance.

The aspiration for self-reliance has increased support for higher national defense spending across Europe by 4 percent, the survey found, with most respondents favoring purchases of homegrown weapons, not those made in the US.

Jana Kobzova, a co-author of the report and senior policy fellow at the ECFR, told The Guardian newspaper: "Across the continent, there's clear support for reducing dependence on Washington. Europeans are increasingly open to higher defense spending and, crucially, show a striking degree of confidence that neighboring countries would come to their aid in a crisis."

The ECFR poll questioned almost 20,000 adults in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom during May, and found only 11 percent view the US as an ally.

This percentage is the lowest ever recorded and 5 percent lower than it was six months ago.

In November 2024, when Trump won his second term of office as US president, that figure was 22 percent.

The survey found 13 percent of Europeans now see the US as a rival, and 12 percent see it as a direct adversary.

Most of those questioned said they no longer believe the US would come to Europe's defense if it were attacked, despite that being required by membership of the NATO military alliance.

The poll's authors said Europeans are learning to "embrace self-reliance and are clear-eyed about Donald Trump".

It added that most of those surveyed believe the relationship will improve once Trump is out of office.

The ECFR said Europe seems to have fallen out of love with the US as a result of Washington's punishing tariffs on Europe's exports, Trump's threats to pull the US out of NATO, and his ambition to take control of Greenland, despite it being part of Denmark, which is a member of both NATO and the European Union.

The US has also been withdrawing troops from bases in Germany, after Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Washington over the Iran war.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said recently that the deterioration of ties has shown the "necessity to build a new form of European independence".

The survey's authors summarized the findings by saying they show "deep European distrust in the US".