As America’s 250th anniversary rapidly approaches, national pride among Democrats is alarmingly low. Ninety percent of Republican respondents reported being “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American compared to just 29 percent of Democrats, according to a new NBC News poll. This brings the share of Americans who fall within these two categories to 56 percent, a record low since NBC ran this poll for the first time in 2001.
This partisan divide is not just present among everyday Americans. When President Donald Trump congratulated the U.S. men’s national hockey team for defeating Canada in the Olympics during his State of the Union address, many Democrats stayed seated and refused to clap. At the same time, other audience members broke out in chants of “USA! USA! USA!”
In addition, many of the Democratic Party’s policies focus on serving the interests of foreigners over native-born citizens. Many states and cities have passed “sanctuary” laws allowing illegal aliens to remain in the territory without fear of deportation. David Bier of the Cato Institute said that in Fairfax County, Virginia, a state that enforces sanctuary laws, about one in five residents are illegal aliens.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., refused to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump Administration to deport illegal aliens charged with drug trafficking, rape of a minor, and other serious criminal offenses. The Department of Homeland Security called Spanberger’s Virginia a “hotbed of illegal alien crime.”
Like politicians, leftist organizations also promote anti-American rhetoric. All of U.S. 250, an organization planning nationwide protests for June 27, declared on its website that “a white supremacist faction is pushing our country in the opposite direction,” and specifically attacked the “MAGA regime.”
This does not suggest that Republicans aren’t concerned about the direction the country is headed in. Americans in both parties reported low levels of trust in government and civil institutions. Only 6 percent of respondents said they had “a great deal” of trust in Congress and the national news media. Eight percent reported this level of trust in the federal government as a whole.
When asked if the American Dream is harder or easier to attain today than in the past, 78 percent of respondents said they felt it was harder, compared to only 5 percent who found it to be easier. This coincides with data showing that it is much harder for young Americans to buy homes and live comfortably.
Nonetheless, despite their distrust of the institutions and concern about the future of the country, Republican respondents reported high levels of patriotism. Democrats, on the other hand, have very little pride in their country, and the party’s leaders, policies, and organizations show this divide clearly.
