Poll Shows Republicans Fear Obama More Than Putin

A third of Republicans in the United States fear President Obama as a greater threat to their country than Russian President Vladimir Putin. Even Syria's Bashar Assad, is feared to the same extent, shows a poll, according to rt.

Even as the right-wingers have given unlimited bad publicity to the Russian and Syrian governments, most insiders see their biggest threat as the insiders.

In March, Reuters and Ipsos have quizzed 2,809 Americans, out of which 1,083 Democrats and 1,059 Republicans have been questioned. About 34 percent of the Americans have voted for Obama as an imminent threat, which is 9 percent more than Putin.

Moreover, Syria's embattled President Assad is also seen as an existential threat to a quarter of the Americans behind the Russian president. However, experts feel that the overall results in this poll are expected, as the US is polarized according to the party lines.

"Fear mongering" by both parties is a much-loved pastime, especially in this 2016 presidential campaign, says sociologist and author of 'The Culture of Fear: Why Americans are afraid of the wrong things', Barry Glassner, according to reuters.

"The TV media here, and American politics, very much trade on fears," he continues.

While 27 percent of Republicans are fearful of the Democrats, 22 percent of Democrats are afraid of their opponents, and 27 percent are also scared of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Potential terror threats on American soil are most feared from the Islamic State with 57 percent, followed by Al-Qaeda, with 43 percent. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un though is also seen as an imminent danger to the US soil, with 34 percent of Americans fearing the country.

Other fears are cyber-attacks and drug trafficking at 39 and 33 percent respectively.

Climate change is not much of a concern to most Republicans, with just 27 percent believing that it poses a threat. Slightly more than a third of Democrats are part of the fear, though.