Russia popularity in U.S. hits 30-year low

Russia’s popularity among Americans has once again dropped to Cold War-era depths, according to a new poll from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released on Wednesday.

The poll found Americans giving Russia an average rating of 32 when asked to rate their feelings toward Russia from 0 to 100. That score is down from an average of 40 in the organization’s June survey, and marks the lowest score on this measure since 1986, when Russia’s rating stood at 31.

The survey comes after publication of a Central Intelligence Agency assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election, in part to help Trump become president. That conclusion was endorsed by the FBI and Director of National Intelligence last week.

Compared to other countries, Russia continues to be significantly less popular with the American public than its closest neighbors and its largest international rival. Russia’s overall rating 32 is 11 percentage points behind China’s 41 mark, and far behind Mexico’s 55 and Canada’s 76.

Among the seven countries tested in the Chicago Council poll, only North Korea ranks below Russia at 20. Russia’s current score also ranks above Iran’s average rating of 26 when it was included in the survey.

Republicans and Democrats appear to have reacted differently to Russia since the election. Democrats have recoiled most sharply from Russia in the past six months, with their average rating of the nation dropping 12 percentage points since June, from 40 to 28 on the 0-to-100 scale. Republicans’ ratings have hardly budged, from an average rating of 38 this summer to 35 today.

Nonetheless, the historically negative marks for Russia suggest the public is deeply skeptical of the country, making the prospect of closer ties under a Trump administration a difficult sell to the broader public.