Independents

Why Are Political Independents Less Patriotic Than Ever?

For the same reason their ranks have grown to record highs: They dislike the federal government.

Nick Gillespie | 7.10.2026 1:02 PM

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(Adani Samat/Midjourney)

In the days before the much-ballyhooed celebrations of America's 250th anniversary, Gallup dropped what passes for a bombshell from its polling operation. "American Pride Falls to 25-Year Record Low," reads the headline on Megan Brenan's summary of recent polling, which asked a representative group of Americans the following question: "How proud are you to be an American—extremely proud, very proud, moderately proud, only a little proud, or not at all proud?"

In a column I wrote last week about the apparent decline of American patriotism, I noted that much of the press coverage focused on the low rates of pride evinced by Gen Z and millennials while ignoring that "all age groups are less likely to love America than in the past." I also focused on how volatile the patriotism of partisan Democrats and Republicans tends to be. Going back to 2001, when Gallup started asking this question, Republicans have always been much more likely to say they are extremely proud to be American. But their positive feelings routinely dip sharply when Democrats take the White House or control of Congress. The same pattern holds for Democrats, whose pride surged during President Barack Obama's first term, when the Democrats also controlled the House and Senate for a spell, before cratering from 34 percent in 2024 to an all-time low of just 14 percent this........

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