Fewer Americans are saying that China and Russia are the top dangers to the United States compared to last year, according to a new poll by Gallup.
The survey The study discovered that 41 percent of people now view China as the main adversary of the US, while 26 percent said the same about Russia. This is a decrease from last year, when 50 percent and 32 percent considered China and Russia as the top enemies of the US.
Republicans and independents are more likely to consider China as the primary adversary, whereas Democrats are more likely to see Russia in that role. In the new survey, 67 percent of Republicans, 40 percent of independents, and 18 percent of Democrats regarded China as the main threat. Meanwhile, 48 percent of Democrats, 21 percent of independents, and 10 percent of Republicans chose Russia.
The Gallup survey also observed that more Americans in 2024 viewed Iran as the top threat to the US, with 9 percent selecting it compared to just 2 percent in 2023. Four percent of adults in the new survey selected North Korea/Korea as the primary enemy, which is a 3 percentage point decrease from last year.
Furthermore, 5 percent of Americans now believe that the US is its own worst enemy, which is up by 4 percentage points from last year. Pollsters noted that this is the highest percentage of Americans who have said the US is its own worst enemy since 2005. According to the new poll, 11 percent of independents stated that the US was its top adversary.
Two percent of respondents each listed Israel and Ukraine as top threats, while 1 percent selected the Middle East and Iraq each. None of these countries or regions were chosen last year.
The survey released on Monday also showed that Russia and North Korea have the lowest favorable ratings, at 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Canada and Japan have the highest favorable rankings, with each receiving 83 percent.
The latest survey, conducted from Feb. 1-20 among 1,016 adults, carries a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
