Share: Facebook; Twitter/X; LinkedIn; Flipboard; Print; Email

^{Chapman’s News & Ideas} U.S. Founders’ Gift to the 2026 Republicans

_{Bruce Chapman
July 3, 2026
Culture, Elections

2}

Two summer events may give a lift to the Republicans’ chances in the coming midterm elections. First is the patriotic feelings evoked by the nationwide 250th Anniversary of America’s founding in 1776. Second is the World Cup soccer matches held mainly around the U.S. that have foreigners expressing delight in everyday experiences that the locals tend to take for granted.

Soccer crowds in various U.S. cities, including foreigners, are heard chanting, “USA! USA!” Articles in the media describe visitors expressing surprise that the country they have heard was bleak and nasty is actually bright and friendly.

Positive events wouldn’t matter politically if media and the Democrats — prompted by the growing Democratic Socialists wing of that party — had not spent much of the year denouncing the state of the nation and expressing pessimism about the future.

A June 29 Gallup poll found that only 53 percent of U.S. adults said they are either “extremely” or “very proud” to be American. Moreover, the attitudes among respondents differed along partisan lines. Among Republicans, 93 percent said they were “extremely” or “very proud” to be American, while only 27 percent of Democrats expressed those views. (For independents, the figure was 51 percent.)

According to a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, pride in America has dropped most among Democrats and young people.

No wonder, for social media, many public schools, and university classrooms have reduced emphasis on civics and American history for years — at least, favorable American history. For the left, America was not founded as a republic in 1776 but as a slave economy in 1619.

Fortunately, some states and some in the philanthropic community are trying to improve the positive emphasis on America’s founding institutions. It may not show up visibly for a while — say, in November’s elections — but change is coming. And the Semiquincentennial celebrations, and even the FIFA World Cup, are probably helping to improve the national mood.