Political chaos has made American pride plunge

Published 1:30 am Friday, August 8, 2025

Given all the political drama that has perennially saturated the nation for the better part of a decade, it should hardly come as a revelation that pride among many Americans has plunged.

In a recent Gallup poll, just 58% of Americans said they were “extremely proud” or “very proud” to be Americans. That was the lowest percentage since Gallup first asked the question in January 2001, when 87% described themselves as “extremely” or “very proud.” Additionally, 19% said they were “moderately” proud, 11% said they were “only a little” proud, and 9% said they were “not at all” proud. The combined 20% is nearly tied with the record 21% measured in 2020.

Until 2018, less than 10% of U.S. adults had consistently said they had little or no national pride.

Such findings were based on the degree of pride that different generational groups have espoused over recurring five-year periods since 2001. The resulting statistical data allowed for vibrant comparisons at various time intervals among specific age groups as well as examinations of differences over time. There was a generational aspect of American pride in that each successive generation was markedly less inclined than the preceding one.

In the Gallup poll, the youngest two generations, millennials (1980–97) and Generation Z (1998–2012), were most distinct. Since 2021, only 41% of adults who belonged to Gen Z considered themselves “extremely” or “very proud” to be Americans, as opposed to 58% of millennials. The level of pride gradually augmented among older age demographics: 71% of Gen X, (1965–80), 75% of baby boomers (1946–64), and 83% of the Silent Generation (1925–45) polled expressed satisfaction with the national climate.

Political affiliation revealed dramatic distinctions. Democrats were more inclined to feel less content with the current state of affairs. Democrats in each birth demographic decreased by at least 10 percentage points, with considerable drops of 21 points for Gen X Democrats and 32 points for millennial Democrats. In the previous poll, 44% of millennial Democrats and 56% of Gen X Democrats were “extremely” or “very proud” to be American as opposed to 24% of Gen Z Democrats.

Republicans tended to be highly satisfied with the state of the nation: 92% said they were either “extremely” or “very proud” to be American, a 7% increase from 85% last year.

Republican pride has remained persistently strong at more than 90%, save for 2016 and 2020–24. During much of that tenure, the nation was under Democratic presidential administrations. Republicans in the older generations harbored the same intense pride they did in the earliest years of the century. Gen Z Republicans were considerably less inclined to express such pride. Nonetheless, they were still much more likely to express appreciation for America than Gen Z Democrats and Independents.

The GOP, however, still does not impress the majority of voters. Admittedly, the GOP’s reductive immigration policies were one factor, among others, in President Trump’s victory in 2024. Since then, however, ICE raids and other issues have repulsed a considerable segment of the electorate — in particular, Democrats and Independents.

Over the past decade, there have been considerable apprehension and ambiguity about young people’s future prospects, widespread discontent with America’s current condition, alarm over the increasing levels of friction between both political parties, and dissatisfaction and an unprecedentedly negative perception of both parties.

There is agreement — in fact, a bipartisan consensus — that much of the national discord has occurred during the Trump presidencies.

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.