The U.S. built its brand by attracting the world’s best and brightest. It must not lose that advantage

Experienced CEOs know that brand equity can be a company’s most valuable asset, one that often doesn’t appear on the balance sheet. Companies build trust, credibility, and goodwill over decades through consistent performance.

But as any chief executive knows, the strongest brands are rarely destroyed by their competitors. More often, brands are weakened by a company’s own choices that erode the very qualities that made them successful in the first place.

This principle applies to nations as well. As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its independence, Americans need to ask not only whether their country remains one of the world’s most influential powers, but whether they have the internal qualities that sustain that influence.

Recent global polling suggests that America’s reputation has weakened. Pew Research Center’s 2026 survey of 36 countries found that a median of just 37% of respondents expressed a favorable view of the United States, compared with 57% who held an unfavorable view. China was viewed more favorably than the U.S. in most of the countries surveyed.

Separately, Gallup polling ...