Counter/Consensus: Global Corporate Purpose Update, Lula's Trump Bump and U.S. Reputation's Trump Slump

1. Global Corporate Purpose (Counter)

Given the polarization of cultural issues in the United States along party lines, especially around last year’s elections, U.S. audiences may be tempted to assume that the entire world is having similar conversations around hot-button topics like abortion, climate change, LGBTQ+ issues, and race. But according to the Q3 update of our Global Corporate Purpose Tracker, that’s not necessarily the case. Even just looking at topline public support for corporate engagement on these issues shows huge divergences across regions, and in ways corporate stakeholders might not expect. 

Highly developed markets in Asia are a good example. South Korean consumers exhibit strong resistance to companies taking a stance on LGBTQ+ rights (gay marriage and transgender rights specifically), ranking in the bottom three among the roughly 20 countries where we survey on the issue each month, alongside Turkey and Nigeria. But Korean consumers are strongly in favor of corporate support for abortion access, and they currently top the list in demanding corporate action on climate change. 

Japanese consumers, meanwhile, are much more progressive when it comes to corporate engagement on LGBTQ+ issues like gay marriage and trans rights, but are the least willing of any country to take a stance for or against corporate support for abortion access.

In a world where public trust in institutions has been on the retreat and ethical consumerism on the rise, corporate stakeholders must grapple with how to address (or not to address) hot-button issues like climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access, unionization, and more. And while attitudes among U.S. consumers may be capturing global headlines amid Trump administration efforts to tamp down on corporate DEI initiatives and reorient the corporate engagement landscape more broadly, our data from major global markets shows quite clearly that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach for today’s multinationals.

To help business leaders chart a path forward, Morning Consult’s quarterly Global Corporate Purpose Tracker follows consumers’ expectations surrounding corporate activism and gauges global trust in business, while diving deeper into the expectations of global consumers around corporate action on key social issues. You can find the Q3 update here. And while you’re at it, consider taking a look at our Industry Analysis colleagues’ just-published report on U.S. corporate engagement on DEI under Trump 2.0.

2. Brazil (Counter)

Lula’s Trump bump. Our data confirms the widely reported assessment that Trump’s heavy-handed intervention in Brazilian politics, alongside his threat of 50% tariffs and his defending of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, has instead boosted the approval rating of current president Lula. The narratives around this boost make it sound large, and maybe even decisive in next year’s election à la Mark Carney’s comeback in Canada. While we won’t comment on Lula’s reelection prospects this far out, our own data indicates the jump in his approval rating has been relatively small and Lula remains very unpopular.

As we noted in the June 12 edition of this briefing, Lula’s popularity has steadily declined over the course of his tenure, sitting near -30 points before the most recent spat with Trump. His approval then jumped 10 points. Though not a small boost, that still leaves Lula’s approval rating solidly in negative territory. 

Where recent events have managed to have a larger impact has been in Brazilians’ perceptions of the United States, which are at a tracking low. In recent years, Brazilians have historically been very pro-American. But Trump’s tariff threats, and now his political meddling, have shifted net favorability toward the United States to be only slightly above neutral. 

The parallels between Brazilian and U.S. politics have been widely commented on. Both countries are deeply polarized, with Jair Bolsonaro often described as the “Brazilian Trump.” Each has experienced attempts by right-wing activists to overturn election results in January — one year apart — events the right called protests and the left labeled insurrections. In both, there are efforts to weaponize the courts against political opponents, and incendiary debates rage over online speech and censorship. But in Brazil, the left is in power. Perhaps this is why Trump and his allies cannot resist wading in. 

Brazil matters — especially in the Americas. It holds the rotating presidency of BRICS, a grouping that has become a particular target of Trump’s ire. Brazil is also a member of the G20, which countries like India are seeking to elevate as a counterweight to Western-dominated institutions, and it is set to host COP30, positioning itself as a leader on climate and environmental issues. Unlike many of its neighbors, Brazil is also less dependent on the U.S. economy, giving it more room to maneuver.

Lula, seeing the political benefit from taking a more aggressive stance toward Trump, seems prepared to call his bluff. But given how small the benefit from doing so has been thus far, he might live to regret it. 

3. U.S. Reputation (Consensus)

Down and out? As the world careens toward an August 1 U.S. tariff implementation deadline that could see Washington apply substantial duties to global imports, overseas consumers’ views of the United States remain deeply depressed. Across the 42 markets (excluding the United States) where we field daily surveys on views of America, net favorability has failed to rebound from tracking lows that materialized around the initial U.S. reciprocal tariff announcements in early April. 

Sentiment has since remained volatile — likely a function of the on-again off-again nature of the Trump administration’s tariff proclamations in the interim — but shows no clear signs of a rebound that would restore America’s reputation to its former glory.

As we note in the Q3 update of our U.S. Reputation Tracker, which contains additional breakouts by country and region, America's reputation continues to suffer the most in Europe, which the Trump administration has repeatedly targeted with a variety of heavy-hitting tariff packages. Sentiment toward the United States among USCMA markets (Canada and Mexico) similarly remains net negative, driving down the regional average. 

Global brands should pay particular attention to consumer sentiment in the former set of markets (and in Canada) given their high-income status: As we noted back in April, anti-Americanism over 2025/YTD remains the most acute in high-income markets, posing outsized risks for U.S. brands owing to a combination of rising consumer goods prices (should the tariffs enter into force) and sharply negative sentiment toward the United States that could compound the impact of tariff-related inflation on purchase consideration, particularly at a time when our global consumer confidence indices are seesawing. 

Looking ahead, we expect sentiment to continue to swing in the run-up to the Trump administration's August 1 tariff imposition deadline. Should concrete tariff plans materialize around that date, we expect sentiment to begin showing a clearer direction of travel over the rest of Q3.

Contact us for a confidential briefing on brand- and market-specific dynamics, and to discuss opportunities to leverage our daily Intelligence data to safeguard your brand.