Poll: 76 Percent of Americans Worried About Major War

The number of Americans who are worried that the U.S. will become involved in a major war in the next four years has gone up 10 percentage points in the past five months to 76 percent, according to a new NBC News|Survey Monkey Poll.

When asked what poses the greatest military danger to the United States, 41 percent said North Korea, well above the Islamic State at 28 percent and Russia at 18 percent.

North Korea has conducted multiple missile tests since President Donald Trump entered the White House, and tensions between the two nations have escalated.

Other results from the survey include:

• Although both Democrats and Republicans equally agree that North Korea is the most immediate threat, 76 percent of Democrats said that diplomacy is the preferred tactic in dealing with the danger, while 21 percent said the U.S. should mostly use force.
• Among Republicans, however, only 42 percent say diplomacy is the preferred tactic, while 56 percent want the U.S. to mostly use force.
• Americans are much more concerned about North Korea compared to just a year ago, with 59 percent saying they feel less safe now from the North Korea threat compared to how they felt the previous year.
• 43 percent of those polled said they feel less safe from the threat of terrorism compared to a year ago, while 21 percent said they feel more safe and 33 percent said they feel about the same.
• 50 percent of Americans said allegations that the Trump campaign had improper contact with Russian government officials is a serious issue, while 46 percent said the allegations are more of a distraction.

When asked what issue matters most, healthcare overtook jobs and the economy. In the latest poll, 27 percent said healthcare was the most pressing issue, compared to 26 percent who said jobs and the economy. In February, 26 percent said jobs and the economy, while only 21 percent listed healthcare as the top concern.

The poll was conducted online July 10-14 among a national sample of 5,347 adults aged 18 and over. The error estimate for all adults is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

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