Many Americans lack confidence in US govt to foil terror attacks, poll finds

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Chalfant, M. (2026, September 6). Many Americans lack confidence in US govt to foil terror attacks, poll finds. Semafor. https://www.semafor.com/article/09/04/2026/many-americans-lack-confidence-in-us-government-to-foil-terror-attacks-poll-finds

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Semafor · collected 2026-09-06 · by Morgan Chalfant

Quick Summary

A Gallup poll has found that a record high one-fifth of Americans have no confidence in the US government to protect against terrorism. The number of people lacking confidence is significantly higher among Democrats (36%) than Republicans (8%). The share of Americans who are confident in the government's ability to prevent terror attacks is tied for a record low at 55%. The poll was released as the country prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-06, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

According to Gallup polling, 20% of Americans lack complete confidence in the US government's ability to prevent future terror attacks, a record high. This number has increased from 12% in 2021 and an all-time low of 2% immediately after the *Sept. 11, 2001* terrorist attacks. The 55% of Americans who do feel confident in the government's ability to protect citizens is also tied for a record low. There is a significant partisan divide on this issue, with 36% of Democrats expressing no confidence in the federal government compared to only 8% of Republicans. This polling data is being released as the US approaches the 25th anniversary of *Sept. 11, 2001*.

Written for “Terrorism Confidence Crisis” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Terrorism Confidence Crisis
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 20% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
‘Institutional neglect’: 25 years on from 9/11, experts sound alarm over US counter-terror efforts different event · 90%
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 4 of 38 📰 publisher trust 69
“Article A mentions a general lack of confidence in the government's ability to foil terror attacks, while Article B specifically references the 9/11 attacks as a historical event, indicating they are discussing related but different topics”
Less than half of Americans believe midterms will be counted fairly after Trump rants - poll different event · 80%
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 22% hedged 4 of 18 📰 publisher trust 59
“The articles describe different topics: terrorism and government protection vs. election fairness and potential interference”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
5
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
20%
1 of 5 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
60/100
Semafor's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Semafor · 1175 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)
2026-10-16
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Who wrote this

Morgan Chalfant
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 But 54% said they would actually support data center construction if companies pledged to cover electricity costs, protect consumers from higher utility bills, and safeguard surrounding environmental resources; 31% still opposed data center construction outright.
2026-10-15 · mixed framing · Americans open to data centers with guardrails, poll finds
🔮 Slightly more than half of Americans say Democrats would do a better job keeping the country prosperous, while only 37% believe Republicans would — the largest lead Democrats have enjoyed on this question in nearly 20 years.
2026-10-13 · mixed framing · More Americans view Democrats favorably as midterms inch nearer
🔮 Questions about the US’ relationship with Taiwan will likely take a back seat to trade, AI, and other issues as President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Washington.
2026-09-21 · assertive framing · At Trump-Xi meeting, Taiwan will be on back burner
🔮 According to new Gallup polling, 27% of US workers worry that technology will render their jobs obsolete, a new high.
2026-09-15 · mixed framing · More Americans worry tech will take their job, poll finds
🔮 The share of Americans who feel confident the government will protect citizens, specifically, from terror attacks is also tied for a record low, at 55%.
2026-09-06 · assertive framing · Many Americans lack confidence in US govt to foil terror attacks, poll finds
🔮 But passing the bills may not be easy: The legislative proposals in question — dubbed the AI OVERWATCH Act, MATCH Act, and Chip Security Act — face opposition from the White House and the tech industry.
2026-08-27 · assertive framing · Right-leaning US groups push chip curbs
🔮 The Trump administration has been releasing Pentagon files on UFOs, which could be adding to that uncertainty.
2026-08-26 · mixed framing · Four in 10 Americans believe UFOs are alien spacecraft, poll finds
🔮 Two states will vote on ballot measures legalizing marijuana in the November midterms.
2026-08-24 · assertive framing · More Americans are smoking pot, poll finds
Also by Morgan Chalfant
Americans open to data centers with guardrails, poll finds
2026-10-15 · Semafor
More Americans view Democrats favorably as midterms inch nearer
2026-10-13 · Semafor
Fewer Americans support companies taking stances on hot-button issues: poll
2026-10-08 · Semafor
No Gaza peace three years after Oct. 7
2026-10-07 · Semafor
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Morgan Chalfant →

Topics

Americans Democrats Gallup Republicans the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks

Subjects

Americans NORP · 2× Gallup ORG · 2× Democrats NORP · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× New York GPE · 1× New York City GPE · 1× Pa. GPE · 1× Republicans NORP · 1× Shanksville GPE · 1×

Narrative

The polling is being released a week before the US marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, with annual celebrations at the Pentagon and in New York City and Shanksville, Pa. President Donald Trump will attend the ceremony at the Pentagon, rather than joining other former presidents in New York.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-06
🔮 The share of Americans who feel confident the government will protect citizens, specifically, from terror attacks is also tied for a record low, at 55%.
2026-09-06 · Semafor
Many Americans lack confidence in US govt to foil terror attacks, poll finds · assertive framing

Claims (5 extracted, 1 hedged)

One-fifth of Americans say they have no confidence whatsoever in the US government to protect the public from future acts of terrorism, a record high, according to Gallup polling. uncertain
they → say → polling
Just 12% said the same in 2021, and only 2% said so immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, when Gallup first started asking the question. asserted
Gallup → say → question
Democrats (36%) are much more likely than Republicans (8%) to lack any confidence in the federal government to guard against terrorism. asserted
Democrats → lack → terrorism
The share of Americans who feel confident the government will protect citizens, specifically, from terror attacks is also tied for a record low, at 55%. asserted
government → feel → %
The polling is being released a week before the US marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, with annual celebrations at the Pentagon and in New York City and Shanksville, Pa. President Donald Trump will attend the ceremony at the Pentagon, rather than joining other former presidents in New York. asserted
Trump → release → York
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