Why Americans are turned off by the Olympics

Americans' concerns about the Chinese government's human rights abuses, surveillance and international competitiveness — and fears of another COVID-19 outbreak — are driving down enthusiasm about this year's Winter Olympics, according to a new Axios-Momentive poll.

The big picture: Seven in 10 survey respondents disapprove of allowing China to host these Olympics — but half plan to tune in anyhow.

Just 7% say they're more enthusiastic about this year's games than the 2018 games in South Korea, while 47% say they're less enthusiastic.

Fewer than half of Americans say the Olympics should go ahead while the Omicron variant is spreading, while the rest say the Games should be postponed (34%) or canceled (16%).