--- title: Americans Think Terrorism Is More Likely Than Bipartisanship description: Americans think a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil is more realistic than Republicans and Democrats working together. canonical: https://time.com/4861005/terrorist-attack-bipartisanship-survey/ author: Anna Rumer article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-17T15:48:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:11.543Z article:section: Politics og:title: Americans Think a Terrorist Attack Is More Likely Than Bipartisanship og:description: They're not optimistic about Republicans and Democrats working together. og:url: https://time.com/4861005/terrorist-attack-bipartisanship-survey/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97c3a8e19264aba8/6988d5ed656a3f1ba0bd0da5/gettyimages-609559128.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: First Nail Ceremony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Americans Think a Terrorist Attack Is More Likely Than Bipartisanship twitter:description: They're not optimistic about Republicans and Democrats working together. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97c3a8e19264aba8/6988d5ed656a3f1ba0bd0da5/gettyimages-609559128.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Americans Think a Terrorist Attack Is More Likely Than Bipartisanship > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Trump Warns North Korea He's Weighing a 'Severe' Response to Missile Launch [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Warns North Korea He's Weighing a 'Severe' Response to Missile Launch](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BsM2dfb4.m3u8) (0:50)  _Published 2017-07-06. President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Thursday that he's considering "some pretty severe things" in response to the isolated nation's unprecedented launch of a missile capable of reaching the U.S.._ by [Anna Rumer](https://time.com/author/anna-rumer/) ## Anna Rumer Jul 17, 2017 3:48 PM UTC  Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., reacts to the technique of Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., far left, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., participate in a First Nail Ceremony that launches the construction of the Inaugural platform on the West Front of the Capitol, September 21, 2016. Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., reacts to the technique of Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., far left, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., participate in a First Nail Ceremony that launches the construction of the Inaugural platform on the West Front of the Capitol, September 21, 2016. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. by [Anna Rumer](https://time.com/author/anna-rumer/) ## Anna Rumer Jul 17, 2017 3:48 PM UTC Americans think a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil is more realistic than Republicans and Democrats working together, according to [a recent poll](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-17/americans-feel-good-about-the-economy-not-so-good-about-trump-j57v0var?utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fterm=170717&utm%5Fcampaign=bop). According to the survey, 68% of Americans think a major terror attack on U.S. soil in the next few years is realistic, while only 21% it is realities to think that Republicans and Democrats will work together to help the American people in the same time frame. The poll also showed that the majority of Americans view a number of awful things as more realistic in the next few years than bipartisanship, including a 2008-like financial crisis (63%), North Korea launching a nuclear missile at the U.S. (55%), Russia hacking the next elections (53%) and health care legislation being passed that lowers premiums and covers more people (35%). A roughly similar number of people thought that it was realistic to think that all illegal immigration will be stopped in the next few years. The poll was conducted in July 2017 by Selzer & Co. for Bloomberg, with a sample size of 1,001 American adults. 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