With the busy summer travel season underway and many travelers have finalized plans for hotels, flights, tours and restaurants, some are considering aspects of being abroad that were previously less thought out. It considers political debate and how to handle potential anti-American sentiment that will change the global perception of the US in Donald Trump’s second term.
Lindsey Hall, which travels extensively outside the US, including Columbia and Europe, has been practicing just that since Trump re-inaugurated in January. Originally from Texas, Hall, a self-proclaimed “nomadic Van Life Pra Gal,” has told locals and fellow travelers that “it was hell now more than ever about my feelings about my country.”
“A lot of people say ‘Oh, Americans’? Playing cards! “It’s like a scream, or a frown,” says Hall, who has clients in both the travel and the mental health industry.
In just six months, the Trump administration continues to make headlines for its strong policy, so in just six months, widespread tariffs, threats to Canada and Greenland, and criticism of allies, including the people of the European Union, have come across considerable backlash. Recently, President Trump announced a swept travel ban ban ban banning or restricting entry to the United States for citizens of 19 countries, and was heavily criticised, reflecting similar laws enacted in 2017.
Hall says she is grateful that she has not yet faced direct hostility or retaliation while traveling abroad, but she is more aware of the possibilities than ever before. She also found that being honest in advance that she is from America and does not hide the fact that she is opposed to the current administration proves that it is an effective strategy to alleviate tensions up to now.
“There’s always this moment when Trump and our politics grew up inevitably, and when they measure my response, I have this pause,” she explains. “I usually roll my eyes and say, ‘Yeah, not our best time.’ As soon as Europeans and Colombians know you’re not on the Trump side of history, they discover that they’re as friendly and accepting as usual. ”
Is anti-American sentiment rising?
Anti-American sentiment is on the rise in many destinations, particularly in Europe. According to recent data from UK market research and data analytics firm YouGov, “US European favors” across seven major European countries have experienced a significant decline since Trump scored 6-28 percent points since he re-inaugurated. The report states that it has the lowest opinion of the US in Denmark. It’s not surprising, as Greenland, which Trump has vowed to the Annex, is the country’s autonomous territory.
Meanwhile, Canadians are one of the travelers boycotting visits to the US, and several European countries have issued their own recommendations for citizens planning a trip to the US.
All of this naturally makes some Americans worried about the receptions they receive overseas. However, Huw Owen, co-founder Travellocala UK-based tour operator notes that Americans have built a solid reputation as individuals that differ from the actions of political leaders.
“As a traveler, it may be difficult to clearly read the global mood, but the reality is that Americans are well known overseas,” explains Owen. “It doesn’t change overnight. American cultural understanding is deeply embedded around the world as generous, open and curious. It’s more necessary to change that than newspaper headlines.”
Owen points out that his company is “a little” reluctant to book a trip abroad, and views it as “not as much as I imagined” among our clients. “Political weather is probably dividing the market a bit.
Audrey Scott is a Berlin-based sustainable tourism expert and, like Hall, has yet to encounter backlash while traveling. Scott estimates that she and her husband are both from the US and have visited around 115 countries in both leisure and business throughout their lifetime. (The couple runs a sustainable tourism consulting company called Unknown Markets, founded in 2007.) She reports that she is not afraid of people sharing criticism of his policies with the US president, but she has realized that most destinations can establish “a separation between government actions and people’s actions, or between actual people and their separation from their places.”
According to Scott, “There are many countries and many people all over the world who don’t like governments and don’t feel that governments represent them. So I think they have this separation.”
But not always. Tell Phoenix-based travel journalist Jill Schildhouse that he faces criticism that he has come from the US on several trips. The first case occurred in Australia in early November 2024. Sildhouse and two other American journalists discussed the election over dinner, and a woman walked to the table to curse her and told her to go home.
“We made the conversation very neutral. The fact that she was brave enough to get up to us for no reason and attack us with vulgar words was absolutely shocking,” Schildhouse says. “And that was my first moment when I was like, ‘Oh, amazing. People don’t like Americans right now.’ ”
Four months later, when Syldhouse was on a cruise in Japan with her best friend, a dual American citizen, her fellow cruisers several times questioned how the two would become friends.
“It kept happening and it was less shocking,” recalls Sildhouse. “Once we looked at each other, we saw a woman who asked and laughed. “Well, we had 15 years of friendship. There’s no reason to stop now.”
“Zero Obligations to Be Involved”
Schildhouse says these cases were offensive, but they never stifled their passion for seeing the world. “I have already been booked this summer on several cruises visiting nine European countries, as those people won’t let them stop their trip,” she says.
Manhattan-based etiquette expert Nick Layton also reminds travelers that “meeting people and sharing experiences is everything about traveling,” and that they can choose to opt out of interactions that they find too hostile or invasive.
“If someone wants to ask questions about politics, if you want to play the game, have a polite and respectful conversation about it,” says Leighton, co-founder of the Etiquette Podcast. Have you been raised by a wolf? “If they support what’s going on in the US, you won’t. But you’re also left zero obligation to be involved.”
