Will Trump Go To War? Most Americans Fear Military Conflict, Split Over Russia Threat, Iran Deal

A major war may be coming to the U.S., and that has Americans anxious. In a poll published Wednesday by NBC News and SurveyMonkey, a majority of people living in the U.S. said they feared a military conflict erupting before the end of President Donald Trump's first term.

The study, which was conducted last week and involved more than 11,000 adults, found that a plurality of 36 percent of respondents said they felt "very worried" that the U.S. would become involved in a large-scale military conflict over the next four years, with an additional 30 percent saying they were "somewhat worried." Only 25 percent were "not too worried" and 8 percent "not at all worried" the Trump administration would enter into a war.

The results also revealed deep political divisions among respondents. While a large majority of 81 percent saw the U.S.' membership in the NATO as positive, views on the international military alliance's rival power, Russia, were more nuanced. Among all respondents, 61 percent said they felt the U.S.' former Cold War opponent was either "unfriendly" or an "enemy." On the other hand, 35 percent said Moscow was either an "ally" or "friendly."

Between Republicans, however, 50 percent felt Russia was an "ally" or "friendly," and 49 percent responded saying Russia was "unfriendly" or an "enemy." Democrats were less supportive of Moscow's military might, with only 23 percent saying it was "friendly" or an "ally" and 76 percent calling it "unfriendly" or an "enemy."

Former President Barack Obama and his administration were deeply critical of Russia's foreign policy and supported opposing forces in conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. Under Obama, Washington and the intelligence community also accused Moscow of interfering with the U.S. election by releasing compromising information from private Democratic Party emails. Since taking office, Trump has called for closer military cooperation with Moscow and an improvement of bilateral ties.

The White House and the Kremlin have held differing views, however, in certain key areas like Iran. Trump has routinely called for renegotiation or even scrapping of the Obama-era nuclear treaty signed by the U.S., Iran and several other nations. Conservatives have argued that the deal, through which Iran agreed to severely restrict its nuclear program in exchange for a lift of Washington sanctions, was too easy on Tehran. Though the deal remains relatively unpopular, according to a Gallup poll conducted earlier this month, Democrats felt more favorably toward it — and Republicans less favorably.

Washington and Tehran have exchanged threats in recent weeks after Iran conducted ballistic missile tests that did not reportedly violate the nuclear deal but antagonized the Trump administration and its supporters. Defense Secretary James Mattis has also expressed his willingness to confront Iran and Russia.

Trump and his inner circle have called out China, as well. While most of the grievances against Beijing voiced by Trump throughout the campaign trail were economic, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson caused an uproar in Chinese state media when he said that China would have to be blocked by military force from accessing islands it claims in the disputed South China Sea. Military threats by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump's responses have also caused some to speculate as to whether a major military conflict could be sparked in the Asia Pacific region.

The White House's most aggressive rhetoric yet, however, has been toward radical Islamist organizations such as the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS. The U.S. is currently involved in campaigns to combat the militant jihadist group in Iraq and Syria. Operations, which began under Obama, are largely limited to airstrikes and coordination with local forces sponsored by Washington, however, defense officials have officially considered proposing a major escalation of ground troops to expedite the fight against ISIS.