A brand-new Economist/YouGov poll finds that 38% of Democrats say they're "ashamed" to be Americans — with a full 12% declaring themselves "very ashamed" — and this delightful revelation drops less than a month before the nation's 250th birthday. Happy semiquincentennial, everyone. The party that demands the keys to the republic can't even muster a nice word about it.
Imagine being so miserable that you live in the freest, most prosperous nation in human history and your primary emotion is shame. Somebody get these people a passport and a one-way ticket.
The survey, conducted June 13–15, 2026, found that 60% of all U.S. adults said they were proud to be American — 42% "very proud" and 18% "somewhat proud." Twenty percent of all adults said they were ashamed. But among Democrats specifically, only 40% could bring themselves to say they were at least "somewhat proud," while 22% sat on the fence claiming they were "neither" proud nor ashamed. The fence-sitters might be the saddest bunch of all.
It gets worse when you dig into the details. Asked whether America is "a force for good in the world," 61% of all adults said yes. But only 10% of Democrats fully agreed with that statement, and just 35% "mostly" agreed. Meanwhile, a staggering 45% of Democrats said America compared poorly to other countries — with 25% calling it "worse than average," 14% labeling it "among the worst," and 6% declaring it flat-out "the worst."
The worst. Six percent of Democrats think the United States of America is the worst country on Earth. These are people who have access to indoor plumbing, DoorDash, and constitutional rights, and they think they've got it worse than everyone else.
A separate Elon University/YouGov survey from April 30 to May 3, 2026, backs up the trend. That poll found 55% of Democrats said they'd rather live somewhere else. Only 48% of Democrats agreed with the statement "I am proud to be an American," compared to 68% of all adults. And 65% of all adults said they'd prefer to live in the U.S. over any other country — but not the Democrats. The majority of them are eyeing the exits.
Here's the thing that never gets old. These are the same people who want to control every institution in the country — the schools, the courts, the military, the health care system, your thermostat. They want to run it all. They just don't want to celebrate any of it.
The July 4th timing makes this almost too perfect. While the rest of us are grilling burgers and watching fireworks for America's 250th anniversary, nearly four in ten Democrats will apparently be sitting in a dark room feeling guilty about the whole thing. Maybe they'll watch a documentary about how the Founding Fathers were problematic.
Fifty-four percent of all Americans still say the U.S. is the greatest country in the world or at least better than average — 21% called it the greatest, and 20% said "among the greatest." That's the majority. That's the country most of us actually live in and love.
The Democrats' shame problem isn't new, but 38% is a number that should follow every single one of their candidates into every single debate. You want to lead a nation you're embarrassed by? Explain that to the voters and see how it plays in November.
