American Pride Hits Record Low Amid Deep Political Divide
A new Gallup survey shows American pride at an all-time low, thanks to a record political divide that has the nation’s citizens disagreeing sharply on a question that once found far more agreement. The Gallup survey, released days prior to this year’s Fourth of July celebration, finds only 58 percent of Americans saying they’re extremely or very proud to be an American -- a decline from the 67 percent who answered that way in 2024 and a nearly 30-point plunge from the 85 percent who declared American pride in 2013.
The 58 percent is a record low. Even during the politically and culturally tumultuous years of 2020 and 2021, Americans rated their pride higher, at 63 and 69 percent, respectively.
In 2002 and 2004, it was a record 91 percent.
“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,” a Gallup analysis said. “In 2017, a new low of 75 percent said they were proud, and national pride has deteriorated further since then.”
Americans who identify as Democrat are largely responsible for the drop in American pride, Gallup said. Barely one-third of Democrats (36 percent) say they are extremely or very proud to be an American -- a significant decline from the 62 percent who answered that way in 2024 and a 44-point drop from the 80 percent of Democrats who declared American pride in 2015.
Among U.S. adults who identify as Republican, 92 percent are extremely or very proud to be an American. U.S. pride among Republicans has never fallen below 84 percent (2022).
Pride among Independents also fell, from 60 percent in 2024 to a record low of 53 percent this year. In 2015, 76 percent of Independents said they were extremely or very proud to be an American.
“At the beginning of the 21st century, U.S. adults were nearly unanimous in saying they were extremely or very proud to be Americans,” a Gallup analysis said. “But that national unity has eroded over the past 25 years due to a combination of political and generational changes. Democrats today are much less likely than in the past to express pride in their country.
“...These changes have occurred mostly over the past decade, and have done so amid greater pessimism about the economic prospects for young people, widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the nation, greater ideological divides between the parties, unfavorable images of both parties, and intense partisan rancor during the Trump and Biden administrations.”
The survey was released June 30 and conducted June 2-19 -- prior to the U.S. military strike in Iran. The Gallup analysis said it “is unknown whether Americans’ national pride has been affected by that action.”
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published July 02, 2025.
