U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are falling around the world, but one continent stands apart: Africa. Around 3 in 5 young Africans believe that Trump’s leadership could benefit the continent, the fourth edition of the African Youth Survey has found.

Since its inception in 2020, the survey has revealed significant support for U.S. influence—as high as 83 percent in the last year of Trump’s first term, with Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda leading the way. On the brink of a U.S. presidential election in 2024, 42 percent of young Africans felt that then-President Joe Biden would be more beneficial to their countries, and only 23 percent supported his rival. Since the change of power in the Oval Office, however, and despite Trump’s disparaging remarks about the continent, nearly two-thirds of the nearly 5,000 African interviewees aged 18 to 24 across 16 countries are optimistic that the Trump administration will be beneficial for them.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are falling around the world, but one continent stands apart: Africa. Around 3 in 5 young Africans believe that Trump’s leadership could benefit the continent, the fourth edition of the African Youth Survey has found.

Since its inception in 2020, the survey has revealed significant support for U.S. influence—as high as 83 percent in the last year of Trump’s first term, with Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda leading the way. On the brink of a U.S. presidential election in 2024, 42 percent of young Africans felt that then-President Joe Biden would be more beneficial to their countries, and only 23 percent supported his rival. Since the change of power in the Oval Office, however, and despite Trump’s disparaging remarks about the continent, nearly two-thirds of the nearly 5,000 African interviewees aged 18 to 24 across 16 countries are optimistic that the Trump administration will be beneficial for them.

On a personal level, Trump strikes a chord with the culturally conservative and those who aspire to become wealthy. Books by and about the straight-talking billionaire reportedly sell well in Nigeria’s and Zimbabwe’s secondhand bookstores—Why Donald J. Trump Must Win 2024, by former Kenyan Sen. Kennedy Mong’are, praises Trump’s business acumen—while some young wealthy entrepreneurs aspire to the nickname........

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