Americans say China is the nation’s top enemy

41% of Americans identify China as enemy No. 1
Russia was ranked second, with 26% of votes
Small but growing number say Iran is nation's top foe

Updated: Mar 21, 2024 / 05:05 PM EDT

A member of security looks on before the opening session of the The National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

(NewsNation) — About 41% of Americans say China is the nation’s greatest foe, followed by Russia and Iran, according to a Gallup poll.

Half of the respondents posed the same question last year ranked China as America’s biggest enemy. Although most Americans agree with that sentiment today, fewer people see China as a threat compared to 2023, while more say Iran is the nation’s greatest enemy, according to the poll.

About 26% of Americans ranked Russia as the United States’ No. 1 foe, while 9% chose Iran. That’s compared to 32% and 2% in 2023, respectively.

An additional 5% said the U.S. is its own greatest enemy, pulling from votes that had previously gone to North Korea.

That 5% is the highest percentage of Americans to view the U.S. as its own greatest enemy since Gallup began asking the question in 2021.

Republicans were most likely to identify Russia as the nation’s enemy (67%) while about 48% of Democrats agreed. Independents were more apt to point the finger at the U.S. itself.