Seventy percent of Americans trust government to protect them from terrorism

Seventy percent of Americans have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in the U.S. government to protect its citizens from future acts of terrorism, according to a new Gallup poll released Monday.

“This reflects a recovery of confidence from the last time the question was asked, immediately after a terrorist shooting in San Bernardino, California, when 14 people were killed,” the poll analysis said, noting that the confidence measure fell to 55 percent in 2015 following that attack.

The June 7-11 poll is Gallup’s first measurement of Americans’ trust in the federal government to protect its citizens since President Trump took office. The time period has been marked by two major terrorist attacks occurred in Britain during May and June.

“Confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to protect against terrorism was highest in Gallup’s initial measurement, in September 2001, conducted shortly after the 9/11 attacks. As the public rallied around its leaders, 88 percent expressed confidence in the government to combat terrorism,” Gallup reported. “Confidence in the government’s protection under George W. Bush ranged from 73 percent to 82 percent in post-9/11 readings.”