Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, an Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media survey examines how Americans view U.S. influence, perceive safety, and measure the public’s understanding of the events and lasting impact of September 11.
U.S. Influence and Safety
Compared to a decade ago, 42% think US power and influence in the world has decreased, 36% think it has increased, and 23% think it has remained the same. This question was asked in a 2011 survey at the University of Maryland one decade after the attacks had found 12% increased, 21% remained the same, and 66% decreased.
A majority of Republicans (54%) think U.S. power has increased, while 64% of Democrats think it has decreased. Independents are more split: 44% think it has decreased and 35% increased.
Forty-three percent think the United States is less safe today than it was before 9/11, 31% think it is safer, and 25% are not sure.
- There are significant differences by age: 40% of Americans under 30 think the U.S. is safer today than before 9/11, while 61% of those over 70 think it is less safe.
Lasting Impact of 9/11
A majority (54%) think Americans are less patriotic and united now than they were following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while 13% think they are just as patriotic/united, and 17% think they are more patriotic/united. Comparing results to a 2011 survey by CBS/The New York Times 15 years ago, the share of those who say less patriotic increased seven points (47% to 54%) and those who think Americans are more patriotic decreased from 31% to 17%.
- Americans over 60 were most likely to report America being less patriotic now at 73% compared to 39% of those under 30.
Seventy-six percent agree 9/11 had a big impact on their generation, while 11% disagree. Eighty-six percent think they are knowledgeable about what happened on 9/11.
A majority of adults (61%) think the 9/11 attacks changed the world completely; 25% think they changed the world a little, while 6% think they did not change the world very much, and 3% think they did not change the world at all. When asked if it changed how they live their daily lives, 22% say it changed their life completely, 36% think it changed their daily life a little, 20% did not change very much, and 15% did not change their life at all.
A quarter of Americans (25%) report that they or their family/friends know someone who was killed on 9/11, while 75% do not. 77% remember where they were when they heard about the 9/11 attacks, while 6% do not, 5% do not know, and 12% had not been born yet or were too young to recall.
Forty percent (40%) of adults think the ability of terrorists to launch another major attack on the US is greater than it was at the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 27% think ability is the same, 20% think it is less, and 13% do not know.
Twenty-nine percent think the war in Afghanistan was justified, while 33% think it was not and 37% are unsure. Thirty-two percent think the Iraq War was justified, while 38% think it is not justified and 30% are unsure.
- Of those who know someone who served in military efforts in Afghanistan or Iraq, 38% think the War in Afghanistan was justified, compared to 17% of those who do not. Similarly, 39% of those who know someone who served in Afghanistan or Iraq think the Iraq War was justified compared to 23% of those who do not.
- Of those who report knowing or have friends/relatives who know someone who was killed on 9/11, 40% think the war in Afghanistan was justified, compared to 26% of those who do not know someone.
Perceived Responsibility
Respondents were asked who was responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in an open ended format. Twenty-four percent named Al Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden, 19% named general terrorists/extremists, 10% said the U.S. government or inside job, 4% named Saudi Arabia, and 3% Iran. Twenty-two percent said something else and 16% did not know.
- 27% of those under 30 say they do not know who was responsible for 9/11.
A quarter (25%) think the statement “The US Government helped plan the attacks of 9/11” is true, while 75% think it is not true.
- Those with higher degrees of education were less likely to think that statement was true, from 33% of those with high school degrees or less to 9% of those with college degrees thinking the statement is true.
Fifty-nine percent think any official of the Saudi Arabia government were involved in the 9/11 attacks, while 41% think they were not.
Thirty-nine percent of adults support keeping facilities open at Guantanamo Bay, while 26% oppose and 35% are not sure. 70% of Republicans support keeping it open while 45% of Democrats oppose.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted August 20-23, 2026, with a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. The poll was conducted by Emerson College Polling and sponsored by Nexstar Media.
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the poll’s range of scores, and with a confidence interval of 95% a poll will fall outside the range of scores 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting registered voters from a file provided by Aristotle using MMS text-to-web, and panel interviews provided by PureSpectrum. The survey was hosted on QuestionPro. All respondents were recruited using customized links that prevent responses from anyone outside of the poll’s sample frame. Panel responses were matched to the Aristotle voter file using respondents’ full name and ZIP code. The survey was offered in English.
All questions asked in this survey with exact wording and order, along with full results, demographics, and cross tabulations can be found below. The survey was sponsored by Nexstar Media
