Polls show Obama isn’t easing concerns on terrorism

President Obama is vowing that America won’t be terrorized, but polls taken since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino show that Americans are increasingly fearful of his handling of the issue.

With both jihadi massacres playing out on live television within the past month, the impact has shaken up the presidential race — to the benefit of Republican candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — and significantly lowered public confidence in Mr. Obama’s ability to keep the country safe.

A national survey by the Pew Research Center, released Tuesday, finds that 37 percent approve of the way Mr. Obama is handling terrorism and 57 percent disapprove — the lowest rating of his presidency on the issue.

The share of Americans in the Pew poll who say the government is doing well in reducing the threat of terrorism has fallen by 26 percentage points — from 72 percent to 46 percent — its lowest level of the post-9/11 era.

“Terrorism has reshaped the public’s agenda, both at home and abroad,” Pew said in its report Tuesday.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll this week found that Mr. Obama’s handling of the Islamic State extremist group also has dipped, from a dismal 37 percent approval rating in October to 34 percent.

A CBS News/New York Times poll after San Bernardino found that 79 percent of Americans believe it’s very likely or somewhat likely that the U.S. will suffer another terrorist attack within the next few months. That number is up from 44 percent in April.

Heading into a presidential election year, Americans are rating terrorism as their top concern. Gallup said 16 percent of Americans now identify terrorism as the most important U.S. problem, up from 3 percent in early November. The economy came in second place at 13 percent.

Mr. Obama is engaged in a public relations campaign this week to reassure Americans that his administration is doing everything possible to protect the homeland. He held a meeting with his national security team at the Pentagon on Monday — a session criticized by Republicans as a meaningless photo-op — and is scheduled to visit the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington on Thursday.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that heightened public concern about another terrorist attack is “understandable” and compared it to the impact of recent mass shootings that were not inspired by Islamist extremism.

“We see a similar reaction in the aftermath of some of these mass shootings — you know, whether that’s in Colorado Springs, or in Oregon, or even in Charleston,” Mr. Earnest said. “That kind of visceral human response, I think, is a natural one. We’re talking about some basic human emotions here. It’s understandable that emotions are going to factor into this response.”

But, on the same day that the Los Angeles school system shut down over a bomb threat, Mr. Earnest said terrorists can achieve one of their goals when the public gives in to fear.

“It’s important for people to recognize that the chief aim of the violent extremists … whether it’s overseas or here in the United States — is to try to terrorize people and to instill fear in them, and to provoke an overreaction,” Mr. Earnest said. “That is their most effective weapon, and it’s why the president has, again, time and again, reiterated his commitment to ensuring that we’re not going to give in to fear. We’re not going to give in to terrorism. We’re not going to allow the actions of violent extremists — you know, whether they’re motivated by a perversion of Islam or something else — to instill fear all across the countryside.”

Democrats are well aware of the implications for the elections. For decades, the Republican Party has typically scored better than Democrats in polling on national security issues, and the attacks of the past month have reinforced that advantage.

In the Pew poll, 46 percent said the Republican Party could deal better with the terrorist threat at home, compared with 34 percent who had more trust in Democrats.

After the attack in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 2, some Democratic lawmakers expressed concern that Mr. Obama wasn’t being forceful or reassuring enough. That led to the third Oval Office address of his presidency on Dec. 6, a speech that critics said didn’t offer any new counterterrorism strategies or ease the public’s worries.