More than half of Americans say Barack Obama’s policies have made America less safe from domestic terrorism, and even more say they personally feel less safe than eight years ago, according to a Breitbart/Gravis national security poll conducted on September 20, 2016.
The poll, which surveyed 1,503 registered voters throughout the country, asked respondents, “Has Obama made the U.S. safer or less safe from domestic terrorism?” 51 percent said they felt that Obama had made the nation less safe. 30 percent said they believed President Obama had made the nation safer, while 15 percent said there had been no change in the general climate, and 5 percent said they were unsure.Asked, “Do you feel safer than or less safe than you did eight years ago from terrorism?”, 53 percent of respondents said that they felt less safe. 15 percent said they felt safer, 26 percent said they felt about the same, and 5 said they were unsure.
Along party lines, 79.1 percent of Republicans said they felt less safe than eight years ago, while only 34.9 percent of Democrats said the same. Independents were in between, with 48.5 percent saying they felt less safe. Most Democrats, 35.1 percent, said they felt neither more nor less safe than eight years ago.
Hispanic Americans were significantly more likely than any other minority group to say they felt less safe than eight years ago, with 55.1 percent saying so. Only White Americans, at 62 percent, responded they felt less safe in higher numbers. Asian Americans were least likely to say they felt less safe than eight years ago, though zero percent said they felt safer – over 3/4 said they felt “no change.” African Americans were most evenly split: 23.4 percent said they felt less afe, 33.5 percent said they felt safer, and 31.5 said they felt “no change.”
Regarding Obama’s performance specifically, Hispanic Americans were once again the most critical minority group, with 60 percent stating that they felt Obama had made the nation less safe from domestic terrorism. African Americans were most forgiving, with only 8 percent responding that Obama had made the nation less safe from domestic terrorism, and 63.9 percent saying Obama had made the nation safer – more than double the number of Hispanic Americans who said the same. White Americans were only one percent more likely than Hispanic Americans to say Obama had made the nation less safe.
Controlling only for Hispanic ethnicity, Hispanic Americans were significantly more likely than non-Hispanics of any race to say that Obama had made the nation less safe: 60 percent said his policies had made the nation more vulnerable to domestic terrorism, while 49.4 percent of non-Hispanics said the same.
Women also appear more concerned that men with the success of the Obama administration in thwarting domestic terror attacks. 52.7 percent of women polled said the nation was less safe from this specific threat under Obama; more than ten percent fewer women said Obama had made the nation safer. Only one out of eight women said they felt safer than they did eight years ago.
