Only 30% of Americans call the United States “the greatest country in the world.” That is not the number of a dead republic, but a wounded one.
The saddest number in the Reuters/Ipsos America 250 poll is not Donald Trump’s approval rating. It is not the 77% of Americans who expect political violence to increase over the next five years. Nor is it the 38% who doubt the United States will exist as a single country in 2276.
America reaches its 250th birthday not as a confident republic, but as an anxious one.
Only 30% of Americans say America is the greatest country in the world. Forty-eight percent describe it as one of many great nations, while 13% claim it is not great at all.
The partisan divide reveals the wound: 62% of Republicans say America is the greatest country, compared to just 11% of Democrats and 20% of independents.
Americans have moved beyond mere policy disagreements. They no longer share a common understanding of what their nation represents.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary of independence, citizens struggle to agree on what the milestone means. While 70% say observing the occasion matters, only 34% are likely to attend or view an America 250 event—55% are unlikely and 63% believe such events have become too political.
The Fourth of July itself has fallen along partisan lines. Only 42% describe it as “a day where I celebrate the United States of America,” with Republicans at 65% and Democrats at 24%.
Twenty-four percent of Democrats and independents say they will not celebrate at all, compared to just 8% of Republicans.
Flags tell a similar story: 41% of Americans plan to display a flag or bunting on July Fourth. Sixty-four percent of Republicans will, while only 27% of Democrats and 33% of independents will.
A flag should not require party registration—or gratitude.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll is not an outlier. Gallup reported in 2025 that American pride had fallen to the lowest point in its polling history. In 2001, 87% of Americans expressed strong national pride; after 9/11, it rose to 90%. Last year, the figure fell to 58%.
Partisan gaps were stark: 92% of Republicans, 36% of Democrats, and 53% of independents claimed they were extremely or very proud to be American. The PRRI’s 2026 America 250 survey was even bleaker, with only 51% of Americans expressing strong national pride—down from 82% in 2013.
This crisis cannot be resolved through blame. Some Democrats should feel ashamed for their reluctance to embrace the country that shelters them. Some Republicans should feel ashamed for conflating presidential loyalty with republicanism. But contempt will not mend the nation’s civic fabric.
The deeper reality is that the presidency has become a proxy for the country. When their party controls the White House, Americans find it easier to say the nation is strong. When the opposition holds power, the flag resembles a campaign banner, the holiday a rally, and the anniversary propaganda.
A healthy democracy would distinguish between a country and its administration. Presidents come and go. The country remains—its Declaration, graves, songs, and founding principles endure.
Yet Americans struggle to make that distinction.
Despite this, the Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals signs of life: 75% value elections even when their party loses; 73% believe democracy is the best form of government; 70% say the Declaration’s 250th anniversary should be observed; and 61% say July Fourth celebrations should inspire reflection on America’s founding ideals.
These are not the numbers of a dead country. They are the numbers of a seriously wounded one.
The distinction matters because wounded nations can heal, while dead ones cannot. Americans have not forgotten the civic language—liberty, democracy, the Declaration, the flag, and the Fourth—but those words now carry the stench of division.
As America marks its 250th birthday, it does so not as a confident republic but as an anxious one. We still have fireworks, flags, cookouts, parades, and songs. But beneath the rituals lies a profound question: Can a people remain united when they no longer know how to be grateful for their inheritance?
Polls cannot answer that. They only reveal the wound.
