It’s no secret that the Democratic media hates America. There are plenty of examples, from Joy Reid to Ali Velshi to Joy Behar, and many more. And despite the barely-there ratings of many of these leftist news outlets, they sadly still have a sizable amount of influence over the American public. As America is about to celebrate her 250th birthday, a recent Gallup poll found that strong sentiments of pride and patriotism among Americans has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years. And, according to CNN’s Erin Burnett and Monday’s OutFront guest, historian Jon Meacham, that’s all Trump’s fault.
“There’s a new Gallup poll that saw that just 53 percent of Americans say they’re ‘very’ or ‘extremely proud’ to be American,” Burnett said at the beginning of the segment. “Ten years ago, that same poll said the number was 81 percent.”
“Is this really about Trump?” she teed up Meacham. He wasted no time enthusiastically assenting to that assumption:
I hate to say it, but I think it is. One of the issues we're going to face over the next two and a half years is 'Was this the age of Trump, or are we in an age of Trumpism?' And on those three letters hangs a whole lot. No president - and President Trump would love to hear this - no President has ever had the grip on the, if you will, the cultural mind-share of Americans. Of all the men who've held the office, no one has been as omnipresent in the culture and in the minds, both of his supporters and of his foes.
Meacham is right that no President before Trump has ever held such sway over the culture before. Some of that is sheer force of personality. But a large chunk must also be attributed to the media’s unhealthy obsession with the President and their attempts to discredit him and demoralize his supporters.
Regarding the poll, both Burnett and Meacham conveniently left out that Gallup also tracked American pride by party affiliation. The difference between Republicans and Democrats was staggering, which shouldn’t be surprising to anybody. 93 percent of Republicans said they were “extremely” or “very” proud to be Americans, compared to 51 percent of Independents and a shocking 27 percent of Democrats.
Republican respondents have maintained a high level of pride in the country, while the Democrats have shown a steady decline since 2003. After 2013, that decline turned into a sharp nosedive, and this year, only 14 percent said they were “extremely proud” to be Americans, compared to 70 percent of Republicans.
Even during the dark years of the Biden administration, Republicans remained “extremely proud” at a rate never dipping below 58 percent, while the Democrats during the same period got down to 26 percent.
So, even though who sits in the White House may have some effect, Trump definitely isn’t all to blame, as Meacham suggested. What’s really to blame is the Democrats, their media, and their politicians forcing this anti-American agenda down the throats of their constituents.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront
6/29/26
7:39:58 p.m. Eastern
ERIN BURNETT: OutFront now, Jon Meacham, presidential historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, and author of his latest book, American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union.
So, Jon, this has gone from a routine renovation to allegations of criminal algae, fertilizer sabotage. I mean, I don't even know what kind of a thriller it sounds like I'm talking about right now. Box cutters, threats of a decade in prison -
Have you ever seen a president so fixated on something like this, or on monuments to himself?
JON MEACHAM: No, and the answer to almost every question that begins, in the last decade, of 'have you ever seen' is no.There's really not a precedent here in America. This is a kind of weaponized narcissism in many ways. It's a consuming narcissism that the President is indulging in.
The problem is, you know, he's living in a reality show. The problem is it's our reality.And I think as we approach this 250th weekend, I hope that we can remember what we need to return to, which is an actual engagement with the principles that the country has to be about giving as well as taking. And this President is very much about taking.
BURNETT: So, you know, the 250th what - we're just a few days away now. You know, Jon, I was thinking about this the other day I was showing my kids my baby blanket, okay, because it was 1976.
MEACHAM: Right.
BURNETT: So there it is, it says 'born in 76' every baby at the hospital got one, okay, I still have mine, it's actually kind of amazing - it's a special thing, I save it.But you know, now, when I talk about it with people that celebration was remembered as being universally joyful, you know everybody remembers where they were. And this one feels different to many Americans.
There's a new Gallup Poll that saw that just 53 percent of Americans say they're 'very or extremely proud' to be American. Ten years ago, that same poll said the number was 81 percent.My jaw drops when I see that. I mean, what do you see here? And is this really about Trump?
MEACHAM: I hate to say it, but I think it is. One of the issues we're going to face over the next two and a half years is 'Was this the age of Trump, or are we in an age of Trumpism?' And on those three letters hangs a whole lot.
No president - and President Trump would love to hear this - no President has ever had the grip on the, if you will, the cultural mind-share of Americans. Of all the men who've held the office, no one has been as omnipresent in the culture and in the minds, both of his supporters and of his foes.
And I think part of the reason - in '76 I was, sort of a flag bearer in bicentennial parades and that kind of thing - part of what was being celebrated then was what Gerald Ford said on the 9th of August, 1974, when he took over from Richard Nixon, and he said, "Our long national nightmare is over," which is a memorable line.The key part of that speech is, we have proven once again that we are a government of laws and not of men. And what President Trump wants to do is this to be a government of a man.
And I think that what his appeal is, is to tell people again, even those who support him, that there is so much to fear. They need him to stand in the breach.
And so that's not an elevating message, right? And that would not lead to pride. It leads to a kind of, if you will, kind of almost a controlled panic. It's a constant struggle, and I think a lot of people enjoy it, honestly.
