No election comes and goes without a good deal of scaremongering, but the intensity and number of things Americans were told to deeply fear during the 2016 elections were such a terrifying collection, that polls are showing Americans still scared witless in early 2017.
A new poll from Pew identified no less than six distinct “major threats” which were recognized as such by a majority of the American public, and indeed among the “threats” they polled could not come up with a single issue that wasn’t considered at least something of a threat by at least 80% of Americans.
The “threats” vary wildly, from old standbys like ISIS and North Korea’s nuclear program still reliably near the top, while relatively ill-defined threats like “cyberattacks” have surged up the list, and even just generic fear of Russia and China managed to sweep in large figures.
A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that in the case of Russia, fear of the nation has surged mightily amid its prominent position in the election campaign, with Russia a much bigger concern for America than it was in 2015, and a worrying number viewing Russia as “an imminent threat.”