President Obama isn’t doing as well with Middle Eastern and Muslim relations as he promised, according to a poll released by the Pew Research Center.
Muslim countries — Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Pakistan — have lost “confidence in Obama,” with favorability ratings dropping from 33 percent to 24 percent in his first term, according to Pew’s Global Attitudes Project. Between his first and second term, overseas approval of White House policies fell from 34 percent to 15 percent, the poll finds.
The numbers are particularly significant given Mr. Obama’s past promises to reach out to Middle Eastern and Muslim-dominated nations and bridge political differences — and bridge divides that were widened during the Bush administration, Breitbart reported.
In 2012, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney chided the president during a campaign debate for conducting an “apology tour” in the Middle East to express regret for past U.S. actions.
That followed a 2009 speech Mr. Obama gave in Cairo, when he announced a “new beginning” with the Muslim world.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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