Americans listed China as the nation’s top foe and their trust in the U.S. military dropped to its lowest levels in three years, according to the first major national-security survey conducted since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
For the first time since the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute began surveying Americans about national security four years ago, a majority of Americans—52%—named China as the nation posing the greatest threat to the U.S. That is up from 21 percent four years ago. Russia came in at a distant 14%—a shift from three years ago when 30% of Americans considered that country to be the biggest risk, while China came in second place at 21%.
Thirty-seven percent of Americans polled listed East Asia as the region where the U.S. should dedicate most of its military forces, while the Middle East came in second, with 17%, the survey found.
The 2,523 Americans reached by phone and online were polled by Beacon Research between Oct. 25 and Nov. 7. The survey, which was released Wednesday, had a margin of error of 1.96 percentage points.