Despite Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, Americans continue to rank China as the greatest potential threat to the United States.
WHY IT MATTERS – The United States is spending tens of billions of dollars and depleting key weapons supplies supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression.
- This could leave us ill prepared to defend the U.S. or its allies against Chinese Communist Party aggression.
TOPLINE NUMBERS – According to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s fifth annual National Defense Survey:
- 43 percent see China as the greatest threat (-9 from November 2021)
- 31 percent see Russia as the greatest threat (+17 from November 2021)
- 7 percent see North Korea as the greatest threat
- 3 percent see Ourselves as the greatest threat
- 2 percent see Iran as the greatest threat
PARTISAN SPLIT – There was a significant difference in how Republicans and Democrats perceived the relative threat from Russia and China to the United States.
For Democrats:
- 42 percent see Russia as the greatest threat (+20 from November 2021)
- 32 percent see China as the greatest threat (-12 from November 2021)
For Republicans:
- 56 percent see China as the greatest threat (-8 from November 2021)
- 19 percent see Russia as the greatest threat (+12 from November 2021)
ZOOM OUT – The difference could be due to years of partisan focus on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
GO DEEPER – Full Results: Reagan National Defense Survey