A new poll finds that Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say that they’re proud of America – and the divergence in opinion goes back as far as the data.
According to the Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard:
Republicans are nearly three times more likely to say that they are “extremely proud” of America than Democrats, a huge gap that has persisted since President Trump’s election.
The latest Gallup survey found that 67% of Republicans are “extremely proud” of their country compared to just 24% of Democrats.
Of note in Gallup’s latest survey on American pride was the drop among Republicans, which was 76% a year ago. It is unclear why the number declined, though Gallup noted that it’s survey took place recently and after the death in police custody of George Floyd and the continued coronavirus crisis.
As you can see charted below, even during the Obama years Republicans were still far more proud of America than Democrats (though the gap did narrow during those years).
That patriotism correlates with more conservative beliefs is no revelation.
Among the random interesting studies I’ve skimmed through over the years included one from Harvard researchers in 2011 that examined the effect that fourth of July celebrations have on political affiliation. According to their findings, even attending a single July 4th celebration as a child increases the chance of one becoming a Republican.
“One Fourth of July without rain before age 18 increases the likelihood of identifying as a Republican at age 40 by 2 percent, the share of people voting for the Republican candidate at age 40 by 4 percent, and the share of people turning out to vote at age 40 by 0.9 percent,” the study concluded.
