According to a poll taken just before President Donald Trump's one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, majority of Americans considers Russia to either be an enemy or unfriendly with the United States.
The NBC News/Survey Monkey poll released early Wednesday, shows a 9 percent increase from last year, when 59 percent of Americans said they consider Russia unfriendly or an enemy nation.
The network noted that the new numbers mark a shift that attitudes are worsening during Trump administration and while special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russian meddling during the 2016 election.
The poll was taken from July 9-15 among a national sample of 5,314 adults, ending the day before controversy hit concerning statements Trump made during his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday and then walked back on Tuesday.
The extensive poll also questioned Americans' opinions on the threats posed by Iran, North Korea and immigration, showing that far more people view North Korea and Iran as either unfriendly or as an enemy than they do Russia:
Russia:
- 48 percent consider Russia unfriendly.
- 25 percent say Russia is an enemy.
- 23 percent consider Russia friendly.
- 5 percent say Russia is an ally.
North Korea:
- 83 percent consider North Korea to either be unfriendly or an enemy.
- 45 percent say North Korea is unfriendly.
- 38 percent, an enemy.
- 11 percent, friendly.
- 2 percent, an ally.
Iran:
- 82 percent consider Iran either unfriendly or an enemy.
- 46 percent say Iran is unfriendly.
- 36 percent consider Iran an enemy.
- 11 percent, friendly.
- 3 percent, an ally.
China
- 49 percent consider China either unfriendly or an enemy.
- 40 percent, unfriendly.
- 9 percent, an enemy.
- 41 percent, friendly.
- 7 percent; an ally.
The poll also questioned Americans on the matters of election interference and cyberattacks:
On election interference:
- 59 percent are not confident the federal government does enough to stop foreign countries from interfering in future elections.
- 37 percent confident the government does enough.
Also, according to the poll, nearly half of Americans think cyber-attacks pose the greatest immediate threat to the United States:
- 45 percent say cyber-attacks pose the greatest threat.
- 31 percent say terrorist attacks are the biggest threat.
- 19 percent, nuclear attacks.
- 2 percent, conventional nuclear attacks.
The numbers mark a shift from October 2017, 31 percent viewed cyber-attacks as the greatest immediate threat; terrorist attacks, 34 percent; and nuclear attacks 32 percent.
However, 59 percent of Americans believe the United states will become engaged in a major war over the next four years, down from 72% in October 2017.
In other numbers:
World Stage:
- 61 percent think the United States is less respected for global leadership.
- 24 percent, more respected.
- 13 percent, no change.
NATO
- 81 percent think membership is good for the United States.
- 15 percent think membership is bad.
Trade:
- 51 percent of Americans disapprove of how Trump handles international trade
- 45 percent approve.
- 50 percent think tariffs will hurt the economy.
- 35 percent say they will help.
- 12 percent say they'll make no difference.
FBI:
- 57 percent view the FBI favorably.
- 39 percent, unfavorably.
On the border wall and immigration:
- 53 percent oppose building a wall.
- 43 percent support a wall.
- 70 percent think most undocumented immigrants working in the U.S. should be offered a chance to apply for legal status.
- 26 percent say they should be deported.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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