A new poll finds that Democrats are by far the least likely group of Americans to say they feel pride over their country.
The poll, conducted by Marist for NPR and PBS News to gauge public sentiment around the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, found that just 45 percent of Democrats said that they were proud to be American. That compares to more than six in 10 independents and nine in ten Republicans.
Overall, 65 percent of Americans are “proud” of their country of birth, according to the poll. That contrasts with 35 percent who said they were not very proud — or not proud at all — of America in 2026.
The finding is possibly unsurprising to some degree, given that Democrats are the most likely, in frequent polling, to say that President Donald Trump’s actions on the world stage harm America’s image and credibility. A poll from John Zogby Strategies in March of this year found that 48 percent of Americans were “ashamed” of having Trump as president.
Still, Americans of all political stripes agree, on the eve of America’s semiquincentennial celebration, that the country has moved away from the ideals of the Founding Fathers in some regard. More than eight in 10 Americans said that the country had moved “somewhat” or “far” from the Founders’ original intent.
At the same time, Americans are still most likely to use the terms “liberty” or “freedom” to describe what it means to be an American, according to Marist’s findings.
Marist’s poll contained other worrisome findings for historians and political/cultural observers. More than eight in ten respondents said that a “serious” threat to democracy exists in some form in America today. And more than a third of all Americans, 37 percent, said that violence of some kind may be required to “get the nation back on track”.
Overall, 59 percent of Americans are pessimistic about what the future holds for the coming generations.
The poll was conducted as the Trump administration has overtaken celebrations in D.C. meant to highlight America’s 250th anniversary, adding a political twinge to the events and adding a sour note to the event for many Americans. Attendance at the “Great American State Fair,” a festival highlighting culture and economic contributions of all 50 states and the territories, has been sparse on the National Mall after a number of stars pulled out of the opening concert and the fair itself has suffered from management and organizational issues.
The Marist poll revealed deep-seated fears held by many Americans about the country’s political future at a time when both political parties are undergoing periods of upheaval.
Democrats, having suffered a blowout defeat in 2024, are facing a reckoning from both their party’s progressive wing and, more broadly, younger voters who have become incensed at their leaders’ tendency to reward seniority over vitality and demand that junior members wait their turns. Three incumbent members of Congress have been defeated in intra-party primary fights over the past month.
Republicans are in no better shape. With Donald Trump’s approval ratings sagging nationally and the war against Iran having dragged down the economy for months, the party is facing a moment of identity crisis as Trump, desperate to hold on to his grip over the party, has unleashed a wave of loyalty challenges against sitting GOP senators, ousting two of his own. Meanwhile, the party is hurtling towards possibly its first real primary fight in more than a decade, with Trump himself ineligible to run and his allies set to battle it out over who will be the successor.
November’s midterms are only set to add to the political divides around the country as the president’s party is playing defense in both chambers against an electoral map that looks more favorable for Democrats practically by the day. A divided Congress — or a unified Democratic one — will cause major headaches for the Capital area and others elsewhere as Democrats flex their muscles and clash with the White House.
The Marist survey contacted 1,340 Americans nationally between June 8-11. The margin of error is 3.0 percentage points.
