Ahead of the July 4 celebrations to mark the nation's Independence Day, American pride has hit a record low, with the disillusionment of Gen-Z, democrats, and independents shining through in Gallup's polling.
Just 58 percent of US adults now say they are extremely (41 percent) or very (17 percent) proud to be American – a record low, with democrats and Gen-Z largely disillusioned with the state of affairs.
Alongside the 58 percent who report being extremely or very proud, 19 percent say they are moderately proud, 11 percent only a little proud, and 9 percent not at all proud.
These results come from a Gallup poll conducted in June, before the June 21 US military strikes in Iran.
The latest findings mark a nine-point drop from last year and fall five points below the previous low recorded in 2020.
Timeline of steady erosion
America's decline in national pride has been a slow erosion, with a steady downtick in Gallup's data since January 2001, when the question was first asked.
When Gallup first posed this question in January 2001, 87 percent of Americans said they were extremely or very proud.
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that figure rose to 90 percent and remained at or above that level between 2002 and 2004.
The percentage who were extremely or very proud dropped to 83 percent in 2005, but it did not vary significantly from that mark for the next 11 years.
Republican-Democrat split widest since 2001
In 2017, a new low of 75 percent said they were proud, and national pride has deteriorated further since then. Before 2018, fewer than 10 percent of Americans typically reported they had little or no national pride.
Just 36 percent of Democrats said they were extremely or very proud to be an American, joined by 53 percent of independents, marking a new low for both groups.
Last year, in the final months of former President Biden's administration, 62% Democrats reported feeling proud.
This marks only the second time Democratic pride has fallen below the majority level—the other being in 2020, during the last year of first Trump presidency, when it stood at 42 percent.
That survey was conducted in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and shortly after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
On the other hand, Republicans' level of national pride has been much steadier, typically registering above 90 percent, including 92 percent this year, up from 85 percent in 2024.
The only years in which fewer than nine in 10 Republicans were proud were 2016 and 2020 through 2024. All but 2020 were when a Democratic president was in office.
The split between Democrats and Republicans, at 56 percentage points, is at its widest since 2001. That includes all four years of Republican President Donald Trump's first term.
Pride divided across generational lines
Generational divides in American pride remain staggering, with younger generations significantly less likely than older ones to say they are extremely or very proud to be American.
Only about 4 in 10 US adults who are part of Generation Z, which is defined as those born from 1997 to 2012, expressed a high level of pride in being American in Gallup surveys conducted in the past five years.
That's compared with about 6 in 10 Millennials — those born between 1980 and 1996 — and at least 7 in 10 US adults in older generations.
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