Climate Change and Russia Are Partisan Flashpoints in Public's Views of Global Threats

[bronxiteforever]

Pew Research Center
July 30, 2019

The public’s views of two global threats facing the United States have changed in the past few years. Far fewer Americans view North Korea’s nuclear program as a major threat to the well-being of the U.S. than did so two years ago...views of other possible threats, including cyberattacks from other countries and Iran’s nuclear program, remain largely unchanged. And Republicans and Democrats remain far apart over the seriousness of two global threats – climate change and Russia’s power and influence.

Global climate change has been a deeply divisive issue for much of the past decade. Among seven global issues included in a new survey, climate change ranks as the top international threat among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (84% say it is major threat) and the lowest-ranked threat among Republicans and Republican leaners (27%).

Sizable partisan divisions over the threat from Russia, by contrast, emerged only during the 2016 campaign. Currently, 65% of Democrats say Russia’s power and influence is a major threat to U.S. well-being, compared with just 35% of Republicans.

Long read - here is rest
https://www.people-press.org/2019/07/30/climate-change-and-russia-are-partisan-flashpoints-in-publics-views-of-global-threats/

A couple of other findings include that most Americans say tariff increases have been bad for the nation and majorities in both parties now say free trade agreements have been good for the U.S.

[lapfog_1]

1. economically and militarily Russia is no where near the old USSR

however, they are engaging in huge asymmetric warfare with all western democracies (not just us) by cyber warfare and shaping public opinion. Their hope is to re-establish (and even possibly expand) the old Soviet sphere of influence and make themselves a major world power again.