By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Just over seven months into what many believe is a disastrous presidency with Joe Biden in the White House, a new Rasmussen survey reveals that 51 percent of likely voters say this country is “not safer than it was before the 9/aa terrorist attacks.”
That’s a sharp increase from two years ago—during the Donald Trump presidency—when only 41 percent felt the country was less safe. Only 34 percent now think the country is safer, and 14 percent aren’t sure.
Naturally, there is a sharp partisan divide to all of this. According to Rasmussen, “With President Joe Biden in the White House, Democrats (47%) are now more than twice as likely as Republicans (22%) or voters not affiliated with either major party (23%) to believe the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Similarly, while 47% of Democrats think the United States is now safer than it was before the 9/11 attacks, only 25% of Republicans and 28% of unaffiliated voters agree.”
“These numbers,” Rasmussen Reports noted Wednesday, “are similar to findings during President Obama’s second term, when as few as 25% believed the U.S. and its allies were winning the War on Terror.”
This isn’t the only bad survey result for Biden. Fox News is reporting that the “distressing images out of Afghanistan” are apparently having a political impact in the U.S. Democrat strategists are reportedly worried Biden’s debacle could have serious consequences in the 2022 mid-term elections.
Fox noted Biden’s poll numbers were down in a USA Today/Suffolk University national poll, with 41 percent approving of his performance and 55 percent disapproving.
A University of New Hampshire national poll found Biden with 44 percent approval and 54 percent disapproval. The survey also found approval on Biden’s foreign policy had dropped to only 36 percent this month, while disapproval has risen to 60 percent.
But with the Taliban back in control in Afghanistan, there are concerns it will allow Al Qaeda to re-emerge as a terrorist organization. As noted by Rasmussen, “In nearly every demographic category, more voters believe America is not safer today than it was before the 9/11 attacks. While men (36%) are slightly more likely than women (33%) to believe the U.S. is safer, still majorities of both men (53%) and women (50%) say America is not safer than it was before 9/11.”
All of these concerns could be playing a role in the continuing strength of domestic gun sales. A look at the monthly raw data from the FBI on background checks show they were ahead of last year for the first full months of this year. July saw a decline.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation does a monthly adjustment of the FBI data to more closely estimate the number of gun transactions involving background checks. In an Op-Ed by Larry Keane, senior vice president and general counsel at NSSF, it was reported, “A new ABC News/Ipsos poll shows the president is underwater on crime and safety, according to Newsweek. Only 37 percent of Americans give their approval to President Biden on his handling of crime and gun violence, representing a five-point drop in four months.”
“Gun sales shattered records in 2020,” Keane wrote. “So far in the first half of 2021, the pace hasn’t slowed, with nearly 9.8 million background checks completed for the sale of a gun in the first six months of the year.”
This year, Sept. 11 will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack that saw planes crash into the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.
