Democrats have turned their hatred of Donald Trump into hatred of their own country.
A new NBC poll proved it – in black and white – two weeks before America's 250th birthday.
And JD Vance went on The Five and gave the resident Democrat a reality check she wasn't ready for.
Democrats Proud to Be American Hits Record Low Ahead of 250th Anniversary
When the NBC News poll showing only 29% of Democrats are proud of their country came up for discussion on The Five, Democrat co-host Jessica Tarlov had a defense ready.
She called it "obviously partisan" – just a natural mood swing when your party loses power.
Special guest JD Vance shut it down immediately.
"I don't think that's right," he said. "Why does that need to be true? That if your party's out of power, you should have less pride in your country?"
He backed it up with numbers. Gallup tracked Republican pride through eight years of Obama and four years of Biden – it never cratered. Democrats had no such floor.
"I guarantee that when Barack Obama was president or Joe Biden was pretending to be president, that you had Republicans who still said they're proud of America, they're proud of our military, they're proud of the great people of our country, they're proud of our natural beauty," Vance said.
NBC News Poll Shows 90% of Republicans vs 29% of Democrats Proud to Be American
The NBC News survey, conducted June 6–10 among 1,000 adults, puts the overall share of Americans who are "extremely" or "very" proud at 56% – a record low since the poll launched in 2001. That figure touched 90% in the months following the September 11 attacks.
Republicans: 90% proud. Democrats: 29%.
The gap is 61 points. In 2001, the parties were nearly identical – 90% of Republicans and 87% of Democrats both called themselves proud Americans. The divergence since then has run almost entirely in one direction.
Age tells the same story. Three-quarters of Americans 65 and older are proud of their country. Among adults 18–34, it's 36%.
"What seems to me so bizarre about this is that we've allowed a culture to develop where people feel like the country is the country's politics," Vance said.
He took it further – a party that treats America as nothing more than a political instrument will eventually decide it's acceptable to wish harm on people who disagree with them.
Democrats Are Running Out of Voters Who Don't Notice
The same NBC poll put Democrats in a second bind.
By a six-point margin, voters said the party is too consumed with opposing Trump. Among the swing voters Democrats need to win back in 2026, that margin jumped to 23 points.
Tarlov's "out of power" argument had a fatal flaw Vance exposed immediately: it requires believing that love of country is conditional on winning elections.
Republicans sat through eight years of Obama and four years of Biden. They kept the flag flying.
Democrats have been on a 25-year slide that has nothing to do with who's in the White House. Gallup tracked it the entire way down: 87% Democrat pride in 2001, 67% in 2017, 36% by 2025, and now 29% in June 2026.
That's a party that stopped loving America somewhere along the way – and is now trying to convince swing voters it didn't happen.
Vance called it out on Gutfeld! later that evening. "What really does bother me is that they don't show gratitude for the United States of America. Disagree with our policies, but if you don't feel grateful to live here and for the people who made it possible, then what are you even doing, being in public service?"
Vance said he wishes Democrats were proud of their country.
They can start anytime.
Sources:
- "After Facing Down the Joyless Hosts of 'The View,' JD Vance Takes Powerful American Message to 'Gutfeld!'" RedState, June 17, 2026.
- "NBC News Poll: How Proud Are You to Be an American?" NBC News, June 14, 2026.
- "Patriotism Drops Off Among Democrats Ahead of America's 250th Birthday," The Daily Wire, June 14, 2026.
- "Sharply Fewer Democrats Say They Are Proud to Be Americans," Gallup, March 2017.
- "American Pride Hits New Low; Few Proud of Political System," Gallup, 2019.
- "Democrat Pride in America Hits All-Time Low," Gallup, 2025.
