America’s troubling patriotism polarization

Published June 27, 2026 5:30am ET



America’s 250th birthday is fast approaching, accompanied by a proliferation of patriotic polarization. A new national survey from NBC News finds self-described Democrats aren’t in much of a star-spangled mood, with just 29% of that group identifying as “extremely” or “very” proud to be American. By comparison, 25 years ago, that number among Democrats was 85%.

This finding broadly aligns with a raft of polling data in recent years, with Democrats and “progressives” reporting very low levels of national pride. This has been true even when their political coalition was in power, so the phenomenon is not exclusively driven by opposition to President Donald Trump, though that is certainly an exacerbating factor.

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