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Poll: Concern about terrorism at post-9/11 levels

by Jesse Byrnes - 12/10/15 7:41 PM ET

The percentage of Americans who are concerned about terrorism has risen to the level it was in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a poll released Thursday evening.

Nearly eight in 10 Americans — 79 percent — say a terrorist attack is “very or somewhat likely in the next few months,” according to the CBS News/New York Times poll. It was 78 percent in late September 2001.

{mosads}The figure generally dropped during former President George W. Bush’s tenure but has spiked in the past month, with 44 percent of respondents saying they think an attack is “very” likely to happen.

About one in five Americans, 19 percent, identify terrorism as the top issue facing the country in the wake of the Paris attacks and the San Bernardino, Calif., mass shooting, which is being investigated for possible links to terrorism, compared to just 4 percent a month ago.

The rise in concern about national security is seen as a boost for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, who leads the Republican pack with 35 percent support in the poll, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at 16 percent.

Seven in 10 Republicans surveyed by the news outlets said they were confident in Trump’s ability to handle the threat of terrorism, with the percentage of those “very” confident higher than any GOP rival.

Among Democrats, 78 percent are confident in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s ability to handle terrorism, though slightly fewer are “very” confident in her, 35 percent, compared to Trump’s 40 percent.

The survey of 1,275 adults, including 431 GOP and 384 Democratic primary voters, was conducted Dec. 4–8 via landlines and cellphones with an overall margin of error of 3 points and 6 points among voters.

Tags 9/11 Donald Trump San Bernardino shooting September 11 attacks Terrorism