Photo taken on April 28, 2020 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Three-quarters of scholars in a poll suggested that the Trump administration's handling of COVID-19 may lead to a loss of confidence in the United States as a state with unmatched material power and capabilities.

WASHINGTON, May 12  -- International relations (IR) scholars in the United States said that the Trump administration's response to the pandemic cost the country's reputation, according to a poll by College of William & Mary and Foreign Policy magazine in early May.

The poll, which surveyed 982 IR scholars at U.S. universities, found out that the inadequate response to the pandemic would undermine America's international reputation, leading to a loss of respect for the country and a decline in foreign public's faith in the willingness of the United States to provide global public goods and honor its commitments.

Far from seeing the United States as a leader, 97 percent of respondents said that the United States had played a role that was "not very effective" or "not effective at all" in coordinating the international response to the pandemic.

An overwhelming majority of participants rated the United States negatively in this pandemic, which they believed that foreign publics see Washington unwilling to provide public goods and honor international commitments, as well as less likely to be respected in the international system.