A sweeping new survey reveals a nation increasingly doubting itself. Just a third of Americans say they are extremely proud to be American, a sharp drop from the post-9/11 era when that figure hovered in the high 60s and low 70s. Confidence in nearly every major institution has eroded, including Congress, the federal government, the military, and the high-tech industry.
The poll, released over the weekend and sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on advancing democracy, stepped back from the usual election-cycle churn to ask deeper questions about national identity and institutions as the country approaches its 250th birthday. The results paint a portrait of broad institutional distrust and diminished national pride.
The erosion is not uniform across generations. Younger Americans express significantly greater pessimism and wariness about national pride and key institutions than their older counterparts. That generational divide carries real weight: pollster Bill McInturff noted that the values of the youngest generation typically become the dominant values in roughly 10 to 15 years, meaning current youth skepticism could reshape the national mood well into the future.
Not all findings in the survey are bleak, however. A slim majority, 54 percent, believe that most Americans share core values despite disagreeing on specific policies. Majorities also agreed that more unites than divides women and men, people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and immigrants and native-born citizens.
The picture fractures when Americans consider other divisions. Democrats and Republicans are widely viewed as hopelessly split. But the most striking finding concerns economic inequality: an overwhelming 81 percent said more divides wealthy people from those who are not, compared to just 17 percent who see more common ground. That perception underscores the populist sentiment coursing through American politics.
In other political news, President Donald Trump's recent moves on Capitol Hill have repeatedly undermined his own legislative agenda. When Trump asked Congress to include $1 billion for ballroom security in a funding bill for ICE and Border Patrol, the controversial request sparked rebellion among numerous Republicans and delayed what was meant to be clean, painless legislation. Party leaders ultimately excluded the ballroom funds, but only after weeks of internal friction.
Trump created fresh complications just as that bill prepared to advance. His Justice Department announced an $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies, including January 6 rioters, whom the president claimed were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. Republicans recoiled at the prospect, threatening to vote for Democratic amendments to block the fund. Negotiations stalled for nearly two weeks until the administration backed down. Had Trump waited a few days to announce the fund, the legislation would have cleared two weeks earlier.
A third self-inflicted wound struck an intelligence priority. While negotiations over extending FISA Section 702, the warrantless surveillance program set to expire, remained sensitive, Trump announced that Bill Pulte, a housing official with no intelligence background and known mainly for investigating the president's critics, would be the acting director of national intelligence. Democrats halted talks immediately. Even Republican senators questioned Pulte's qualifications. Though Trump later emphasized the appointment was temporary and nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, as permanent director, the damage was done. FISA Section 702 expired on Friday for the first time since the program's creation in 2008.
This week, the Senate hopes to fast-track Clayton's confirmation to unlock votes for reinstating the surveillance authority. But Trump raised the bar again, posting on Truth Social that he opposes FISA unless it comes packaged with the Save America Act, which would impose stricter election rules nationwide. That bill requires 60 votes and has no path to passage, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly made clear.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Trump's impulse to expand every fight into a bigger fight is costing him real legislative wins, and Republicans on the Hill are too disciplined or too intimidated to tell him directly."
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