Poll:

Most Americans fear a major war during Trump’s presidency

Rasa - An overwhelming majority of Americans are worried that the United States will become engaged in a major war in the next four years during the presidency of Donald Trump, according to a new poll.

News ID: 431085

Date: 19 July 2017 - 23:32

RNA - According to the survey, released on Tuesday by NBC News|SurveyMonkey, 76 percent of people in the US said they were worried about military conflict, an increase on 10 points since February.

The poll found that 41 percent believe that North Korea currently poses the greatest immediate danger to the United States, emerging as a more urgent concern than ISIL or Russia, which stood at 28 percent and 18 percent respectively.

Three in 5 Americans, or 59 percent, say they currently feel less safe from North Korea compared to how they felt last year, the survey found. The same percentage also said the United States should mostly use diplomacy over military force.

Tensions between the US and North Korea have rapidly escalated since Trump took office in January. In the past few months, North Korea has conducted multiple missile tests.

Some fear that the United States, which has already mobilized a significant portion of its military toward the Korean peninsula, is already preparing for a war with Pyongyang.

During an interview with Reuters in April, Trump said "There is a chance we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea."

Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a massive military bill for the year 2018 that far exceeds Trump's previous budget request.

The US already has the highest military spending in the world. The new budget increase serves to further expand the US military as Trump has promised.

Trump has pledged a "massive” increase in the Pentagon’s budget spending to implement “the greatest military build-up in American history.”

847/940