Happy Fourth! Pride In America Plunges Under Trump Presidency (Again)
Americans’ pride in their country has tumbled to a new low, according to a poll released on Monday. Not only is pride at its lowest point since Gallup began asking the question in 2001, but the share has fallen nine points under President Donald Trump this year alone.
Fifty-eight percent of U.S. adults say they feel extremely or very proud to be an American. A year ago, when former President Joe Biden was in office, that number was 67 percent. The highest level of American pride Gallup has measured came in 2002 and 2004, when 91% of Americans were extremely or very proud following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
While Republicans’ pride in being American has increased by seven points since last year, the decline was precipitous among Democrats (down 26 points) and independent voters (down seven points).
There was also a generational divide, with 41 percent of people in Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) expressing pride in being American, compared with 58 percent of millennials, 71 percent of Generation X, 75 percent of baby boomers, and 83 percent of people in the Silent and Greatest generations (people born before 1946).
The decline comes as Americans, including millions who backed Trump, are now dealing with the fallout from his second presidential term.
He has started an expensive trade war with much of the world, increasing the costs of doing business for American companies and farmers while also making many household staples more expensive. Trump has responded to these concerns with advice like telling little children to purchase fewer dolls.
Another pressing concern is Trump’s wholehearted embrace of authoritarianism. He has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to attack American cities, abducting vulnerable people—including students—off the street in broad daylight.
Trump has even chosen to arrest and charge Democratic officeholders for attempting to provide oversight of his actions, or roughing them up for dissenting from his administration.
Trump is rolling back civil rights gains by LGBTQ+ Americans and using his administration to erase boundary-breaking achievements by Black people and women.
Everyday Americans brace to see what new way Trump and his team will use their positions of power to enrich themselves, abuse others, or make America look clownish on the international stage.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
