Republicans used to fear Russians. Here’s what they think now.

For decades, the Republican Party has been more hawkish toward Russia than Democrats. That’s changed with President Trump’s election. Even everyday Republicans are now more positive than Democrats toward Russia, according to several opinion polls. In fact, on the issue of Russia cyber-meddling in the U.S. elections, Republican public opinion […] Read more »

Donald Trump has brought us the American style in paranoid politics

Political scientists long assumed that U.S. institutions were more open and sturdier than those in other countries. One manifestation of that robustness, the theory went, was that U.S. politics appeared largely free from troubling symptoms like conspiracy thinking. Foreigners — particularly in less-developed countries — might attribute the actions of […] Read more »

The World Facing Trump: Public Sees ISIS, Cyberattacks, North Korea as Top Threats

When he takes office next week, President-elect Donald Trump will inherit an array of global threats in the view of the public. About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) say ISIS poses a major threat to the well-being of the United States, and 71% say the same about cyberattacks from other countries. CONT. […] Read more »

U.S. public sees Russian role in campaign hacking, but is divided over new sanctions

Most Americans believe Russia was behind the hacks of the Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign. But they are divided on whether to impose further sanctions on Russia, beyond the steps President Barack Obama took last month. CONT. Jocelyn Kiley, Pew Read more »

Putin and the Populists

Donald Trump is practically alone in mainstream American politics in his consistent praise of Vladimir Putin and insistence that the United States would benefit from warmer relations with Russia. But that inclination to view Putin more as ally than adversary places Trump squarely in line with the racially infused, conservative-populist […] Read more »