Gallup: Only 36% of Dems Proud to Be American

Only 36% of Democrats say they're "extremely" or "very" proud to be American, according to a new Gallup poll, reflecting a dramatic decline in national pride that's also clear among young people.

The findings are a stark illustration of how many — but not all — Americans have felt less of a sense of pride in their country over the past decade. 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.

Only about 4 in 10 U.S. 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, on average. That's compared with about 6 in 10 Millennials — those born between 1980 and 1996 — and at least 7 in 10 U.S. adults in older generations.

Now, 58% of U.S. adults say that, in a downward shift that's been driven almost entirely by Democrats and independents. The vast majority of Republicans continue to say they're proud to be American.

Independents' pride in their national identity hit a new low in the most recent survey, at 53%, largely following that pattern of gradual decline.

Democrats' diminished pride in being American is more clearly linked to Trump's time in office. When Trump first entered the White House, in 2017, about two-thirds of Democrats said they were proud to be American. That had fallen to 42% by 2020, just before Trump lost reelection to Democrat Joe Biden.

But while Democrats' sense of national pride rebounded when Biden took office, it didn't go back to its pre-Trump levels.