Americans Enter 250th Birthday With 69% Saying Founders Would Feel Disappointed
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 22
Americans Enter 250th Birthday With 69% Saying Founders Would Feel Disappointed
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 22
Summary
69% of Americans say the Declaration's signers would feel more disappointment than pride about U.S. democracy, capturing a broader sour national mood ahead of the 250th anniversary.
Recent polls across Pew, Gallup, NBC, Fox, Elon and Emerson show double-digit dissatisfaction and pessimism, with Emerson finding optimism at 42% and pessimism at 41%—down from a 28-point optimism advantage in 1976.
Partisanship is shaping the celebration itself: 88% of Republicans plan to mark the anniversary versus 54% of Democrats, while some states and entertainers have pulled back from Washington events tied to Trump's Freedom 250 effort.
Younger Americans are especially bleak—only 54% of adults 18 to 39 plan to celebrate, and 3 in 10 voters under 30 told Fox they would rather live in another country.
Even so, the picture is mixed: 85% say national unity and shared values matter, 68% feel hopeful about the future, and nearly 9 in 10 can name at least one reason for optimism.