There’s a Partisan Patriotism Gap

76 percent

Overall, the YouGov poll found that 76 percent of Americans consider themselves “very” or “somewhat” patriotic. But between Republicans and Democrats, there were pretty big differences: A whopping 97 percent of Republicans placed themselves in the “very” or “somewhat” categories, compared with 71 percent of Democrats. That’s a gap of 26 percentage points. Even more starkly, 72 percent of Republicans consider themselves to be “very” patriotic (the highest level of patriotism), compared with 29 percent of Democrats — a 43-point gap.

John McCain Tells It Like It Is

“To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain ‘the last best hope of earth’ for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history.”

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech at the 2017 Liberty Medal ceremony.

Americans About America: ‘Meh’

28%

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that just 28% of adults called America the “single best place to live in the world,” with another 17% calling it “among the very few best places.” More respondents put United States closer to the middle of the pack, with 37% calling America merely “above average” and 14% rating the country as “average.” An additional four percent called the U.S. “below average” on the global scale.

Most Americans Think It’s ‘Selfish,’ ‘Unpatriotic’ Not to Pay Taxes

67%

Of Americans said it is “selfish” for a presidential candidate to pay no taxes, while 61% said it is “unpatriotic,” according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. “At the same time, the results showed some respect for a candidate who can figure out how to reduce their tax bill. Some 46% of Americans, including 35% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans, thought a presidential candidate who pays no taxes is ‘smart.’”