Overview

• A Gallup poll finds that only 58% of U.S. adults feel very or extremely proud to be American, marking a 25-year low and a nine-point decline from last year.
• The drop in national pride is largely driven by Democrats, whose reported pride fell from 62% under President Biden in mid-2024 to just 36% today.
• Opinion writers fault MAGA-era leadership for deepening political divides through divisive rhetoric and policies seen as undermining core American values.
• Commentators clash over whether disillusioned citizens should recommit to the nation’s democratic ideals and immigrant-led achievements or take Nicole Russell’s advice to leave.
• Analysts urge renewed focus on America’s historic role as the oldest modern democracy and its legacy of cultural, scientific and humanitarian breakthroughs as a remedy to waning pride.