82 percent of Americans view Russia as a 'threat'

(Image credit: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images)

published 13 January 2017

President-elect Donald Trump may think being well-liked by Russian President Vladimir Putin is "an asset, not a liability," but the majority of Americans are very leery about Russia. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday revealed that 82 percent of Americans think Russia is a "threat" to the U.S. In fact, Americans were "more likely to label Russia a threat than they were Iran, Syria, China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, or Yemen," Reuters reported. The only country Americans were more concerned about was North Korea, which 86 percent of Americans called a threat.

Anxieties about Russia extended beyond party lines. While Democrats were slightly more concerned, with 84 percent labeling Russia a "threat," 82 percent of Republicans raised concerns about the country. On the whole, it's a noticeable jump from when the question was last asked in March 2015, and 76 percent of Americans called Russia a threat.