Campus Reform’s Cabot Phillips visited New York Univerity in Manhattan ahead of Independence Day and asked students if they felt proud to be an American — he was met with a resounding “no.”
“I’m not proud of America. I’m not proud of what we’ve done,” one male student declared when asked if he holds the U.S. in high regard.
One female student took aim at the idea of American Exceptionalism, describing the view as both “egotistical and not accurate.” When Philips inquired which country is better than the U.S., she replied: “Probably some nice little socialist country in Europe.”
Confronted with questions about President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, multiple students expressed concern over the direction of the county. “I would — first of all — reverse everything Trump has done,” advised one of the students. “Every executive action, yeah, I’d reverse everything he’s done right now.”
Another student cynically lamented “patriotic views about America” are merely used “a tool to be used to get people to join the Army.”
The negative sentiments expressed by the students are echoed in a recent poll showing a sharp decline in those who are appreciative of their American heritage. Less than a majority of those polled – 47% down from 51% last year — say they are “extremely proud,” to be American, representing the lowest figure in Gallup’s nearly two-decade history.