Power Rankings of World Leaders

Here's the new power rankings of world leaders. The last one was posted on June 13.

Rank	Leader	Country	Previous Rank
1	Xi Jiangping	China	1
2	Kim Jong-un	North Korea	2
3	Vladimir Putin	Russia	5
4	Ali Khamenei	Iran	7
5	Narendra Modi	India	Not Ranked
6	Mohammad bin Salman	Saudi Arabia	10
7	Abdel Fattah el-Sisi	Egypt	Not Ranked
8	Recep Tayyip Erdogan	Turkey	Not Ranked
9	Donald Trump	United States	6
10	Pedro Sanchez	Spain	Not Ranked

1. The trade war is happening and China is in a great position to win it. Xi doesn't have to worry about his political constituency because he is the unchallenged leader of China. He can put a real hurt on the U.S. since its president Donald Trump managed to alienate his allies before entering this trade war. The North Korean situation is going swimmingly for Xi as well as Trump has already capitulated on a few issues that bolster China. And in a recent Democracy Perception Index (DPI) report, China was one of the top countries for the questions about the government acting in its people's best interest and- amazingly- about the perception of its news media being balanced.

2. Kim defeated Donald Trump during the Singapore summit. Donald Trump was caught by cameras saluting a North Korean soldier. It was bad enough that the President of the United States met with the North Korean dictator as if they were equals, called a halt to necessary defensive military exercises with South Korea, and didn't get anything of substance in return, but now POTUS is saluting random North Korean soldiers. And oh by the way, after vaguely promising to denuclearize, the North Koreans have increased nuclear production at secret sites.

3. One of the most upsetting sights at the World Cup was watching Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince MBS shrug their shoulders as Russia continuously scored goals in the tournament's opening match as if to say, "Let the peons have their fun, this frivolity is of no consequence to us royalty." Otherwise, the optics have been good during Putin's World Cup as none of the stadiums have collapsed and no foreigners have been beaten (except for maybe Neymar, but that's a different story). Don't underestimate Putin's ability to fix the World Cup as his low-ranked Russian squad is still alive. Putin is now preparing for his summit with Trump, who is developing a reputation as an easy mark. Russia- bewilderingly- was number one in the DPI report's question about feeling free to express one's political positions. This despite the untimely deaths or arrests of those who express the "wrong" opinions about Putin.

4. As the Iran Deal continues to crumble following President Trump's withdrawal, the pressure is on Europe and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to revive it. Trump is threatening the U.S.'s European allies with sanctions for trading with Iran, which moves the Europeans to the Iranians' side in the dispute. And if a new deal can't get done, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei benefits. Iranians are protesting the bad economy, Now Khamenei can play that old anti-American nationalism tune and hope to blame Iran's economic woes on the Great Satan. And Iran may soon be free to start up its nuclear program once again.

5. Modi is the top democratic leader on this list. India's economy is thriving, but relations between the Hindu fundamentalist government and the large Muslim minority has been a cause for concern. A UN human rights report on India's only Muslim-majority province, Kashmir, was rough on the Indians, who have run the state as a military autocracy for decades. However, the recent DPI report put India near the top with China in terms of the perception of a balanced media in the eyes of India's citizens. That might be because India's cable news media is basically people from all sides of an issue screaming at each other.

6. Women can now drive in Saudi Arabia, a great news story for MBS, who has overseen a disastrous war in Yemen, the bizarre kidnapping of the Lebanese prime minister, a counterproductive blockade of Qatar, and the jailing of female activists. He also was one half of the "let them eat cake" duo at the World Cup with Putin, arrogantly shrugging away his soccer team's pitiful performance. But in that recent DPI report, Saudi Arabia easily won the question about the government acting in its people's best interest and- astoundingly- did well on a question about whether the average citizen's voice matters.

7. Sisi is back on the list because of the DPI report. Egypt was second behind Saudi Arabia for the question about the government acting in the people's interest and tied for second for the question: do you feel that the voice of people like you matters in politics? That is an incredible achievement for a hapless despot.

8. Erdogan won another presidential election. This was an important one because it basically made him dictator for life in the once-democratic country. Erdogan has a knack for just clearing the 50% threshold. I have a feeling he'll do much better next election with his increased powers. It's like that old expression: With increased power comes increased comfort to fix your next election. The good news is Turkey has taken in a lot of Syrian refugees, something the United States and many European countries are loath to do. In the DPI report, Turkey- shockingly- was one of the best countries in terms of the government acting in its people's interest. Apparently, not many Kurds, Istanbulites, and Izmirian were polled.

9. Trump has had a terrible month. Separating children from their parents on the border with Mexico was inhumane. Saluting the North Korean soldier was treasonous at worst and stupid at best. The trade war is going to cost a lot of Americans their jobs and will increase the price of many consumer goods. He entered the trade war after alienating his allies, never a good plan. After being duped by Kim Jong-Un during the pair's summit, he's going to be bamboozled by Putin during their July 16 summit. You never know, Trump might end up giving Putin Crimea and California and still claim he got a great deal.

10. When the Italians heartlessly refused the Aquarius, a boat laden with refugees, Sanchez's Spain answered the call and allowed the ship to dock. Whereas French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have all failed to sway Trump, perhaps, ironically, Socialist Sanchez will be a more effective leader of the Western alliance and the liberal world order.