By THE ALASKA STORY
June 14, 2026 — As Americans marked Flag Day by raising Old Glory over homes, businesses, and buildings across the country, a new national poll suggests that Americans are increasingly divided over what the flag itself represents.
According to a new NBC News survey conducted June 6-10 among 1,000 adults, just 56% of Americans say they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be American. While still a majority, that figure is down sharply from 67% just one year ago and far below the surge of national pride seen after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when similar surveys found pride levels approaching 90%.
The numbers reveal one of the starkest political divides in recent polling: Among Republicans, 90% say they are extremely or very proud to be American. Among Democrats, that figure drops to a record low of 29%.
Pollster Frank Luntz, who highlighted the findings on social media, said the results reflect a growing cultural and political divide that extends far beyond elections and public policy.
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The age gap is nearly as striking as the partisan one.
Three-quarters of Americans age 65 and older say they are extremely or very proud of their country. Among adults ages 18 to 34, however, only 36% express the same level of pride.
For many Alaskans, public displays of patriotism remain commonplace. American flags fly year-round outside homes from Ketchikan to Fairbanks, although less so in Native settlements. Veterans organizations, military families, and civic groups routinely mark patriotic holidays with ceremonies and events.
The poll suggests that those traditions may resonate differently with younger Americans and members of different political parties.
The contrast is particularly notable when viewed historically.
Luntz pointed to a Gallup survey conducted in 2015 during the Obama administration. At that time, 68% of Republicans said they were extremely proud to be American, compared with 47% of Democrats. Republicans were still more likely to express strong patriotic feelings, but the gap was significantly smaller than it is today.
What has changed over the past decade remains a subject of debate over growing political polarization, social media, declining trust in institutions, and differing views of American history.
Yet even as pride in America has declined in many surveys, Americans continue to express broad support for foundational constitutional freedoms such as free speech, religious liberty, and representative government.
On a day set aside to honor the nation’s flag, the poll serves as a reminder that Americans remain united under one banner but increasingly divided in how they view the country it represents. For a nation approaching its 250th birthday next month, that may be one of the most significant challenges of all.
15 thoughts on “Democrats show record low, lack of pride in America: NBC poll”
Any guess, out there from you keyboard pundits, WHY Americans do not feel the pride they once did? Could it be that democracy, integrity, hope, and kindness have been utterly corrupted by ONE SINGLE MAN? There is no question he is the worst president ever and may be one of the worst world leaders ever. If you voted for him, you are complicit. YOU get to explain your support for corruption and pussy-grabbing to your grandchildren. Sorry about your loss of integrity, but at least you still have your gullibility.
Your description of Joe ” Poopy Pants ” Biden is accurate, but take heart. We’ve moved on from that era…..
“……..Could it be that democracy, integrity, hope, and kindness have been utterly corrupted by ONE SINGLE MAN?……..”
There’s the proof that you’re so young you didn’t experience the 1960’s. Talk about low national pride. Trump wasn’t POTUS then. Democrats were. And the other similarity with today is media trash talk.
Read a history book or two, Evan.
Even f he read a book, he’d dismiss it out of hand, because it doesn’t fit his world view, that he is so much smarter than everyone else. Completely out of control ego. Legend in his,own mind
How many graduates degrees do you have Chuck?
I’ve only needed one. I’m not an ivory tower dweller. I had to pay my own way, too graduate parchment isn’t necessarily reflective of intelligence. Some of the,grossest mistakes I had to correct came from people with terminal degrees in their fields. Mistakes that could have killed people in horribly painful ways.
What field is your graduate degree in? What’s your community specialty?
I don’t doubt your assessment of stupid people doing stupid stuff. Don’t know your background, but glad you corrected mistakes.
You know those kind of people who when they walk into a room think that everyone in the room is a jerk? You know how everyone else knows that it’s not a room full of jerks, but the one person who just walked in is the problem? This poll suggests the problem isn’t the majority of Americans who are proud Americans that are the problem, it’s those who are looking around America and see nothing but hate in their eyes that are the problem.
Nailed it!!
In 1984, former KGB agent named Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov gave an interview to G. Edward Griffin.
Bezmenov said that the work of the KGB mainly does not involve espionage, but the majority of it was “a slow process which we call either ideological subversion, active measures, or psychological warfare.” Bezmenov went on to say “What it basically means is: to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite of the abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interest of defending themselves, their families, their community, and their country.” The first stage of this pricess is called “demoralization” and these demoralized people “are programmed to think and react to certain stimuli in a certain pattern. You can not change their mind even if you expose them to authentic information. Even if you prove that white is white and black is black, you still can not change the basic perception and the logic of behavior.”
Bezmenov continues “A person who was demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. Even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents, with pictures; even if I take him by force to the Soviet Union and show him concentration camp, he will refuse to believe it, until he a kick in his fan-bottom. When a military boot crashes his balls then he will understand. But not before that. That’s the of the situation of demoralization.”
You can watch the interview here:
https://youtu.be/bX3EZCVj2XA?si=zrkmlc514kmpqoSw
“………Bezmenov said that the work of the KGB mainly does not involve espionage, but the majority of it was “a slow process which we call either ideological subversion, active measures, or psychological warfare.” ……..”
And the tools of their craft were our university system (which eventually extended downward not into our elementary school system) and the mass media.
Then came the Long March Through the Institutions, including federal, state, and local government agencies……..again, from our universities.
Now, even with the Soviet Union gone and communism fully discredited worldwide as a viable economic system, American socialists are desperately trying to keep the lie alive.
So after decades of indoctrination in our country’s educational institutions, the commie’s have finally succeeded in destroying the hearts, minds, and souls of about 40% of the population. Now, as the truth becomes indistinguishable from fantasy (accelerating rapidly with AI) and a world wide web filled with zettabytes* of data and (mis)information, what chance do the future generations have of learning, knowing, and understanding what is really true.
.
Keep those First Printing and early editions of historical references for the sake of our nation’s posterity.
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*It says so on the web, so it’s gotta be true, right?
Or, Damien, you could take responsibility for your educational shortcomings rather than blaming the commie’s [sic].
I flew a tattered flag thru the biden years, Its been replaced with a new one once Trump took office. Says what you need to know of my views. Be thankful you can express your views at least for now.
That’s VERY interesting. Do you think the flag change has influenced the Trump administration now? Could be.