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Democrats want to reclaim patriotism from Republicans

The Vice President's patriotism marks a pivot. Credit: Getty

August 15, 2024 - 9:00pm

Republicans have long been considered the patriotic party, but the Kamala Harris campaign is attempting to reclaim that title for the Democrats.

At her rallies, staff have handed out synchronised red, white and blue blinking lights, and crowds have broken out into chants of “U-S-A”. Harris, sometimes flanked by massive American flags, has emphasised patriotism and freedom in her speeches, themes that have been central to her campaign thus far.

This vocal patriotism marks a pivot from the attitudes of the American Left in recent years, with the US being cast as structurally racist and the national flag as Right-wing. Indeed, Harris herself pushed back on Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s argument that America was not a racist country, stating, “No, I don’t think America is a racist country, but we also do have to speak truth about the history of racism in our country and its existence today.”

Back in 2021, NBC News ran an essay titled “Some Trump supporters are co-opting the American flag. Nazis once did that, too.” Meanwhile, a chapter of Black Lives Matter claimed flying the American flag was racist in 2021. Before he was president, Barack Obama even briefly stopped wearing the American flag lapel pin as a statement about the war in Iraq. In 2019, Democratic presidential candidates drew anger when the majority of them skipped the traditional flag lapel during a primary debate.

Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to report feeling “extreme pride” at being American, at 59 vs. 34%, according to Gallup. The gap has persisted for decades, though it grew considerably around 2016. But Donald Trump’s negative rhetoric about the US, including his recent comments that the country is “in decline” and the Make America Great Again slogan’s implication of a no-longer great nation, have created an opening for the Left to embrace a more patriotic image.

Last month, the Vice President condemned anti-Israel protesters’ burning of the American flag near the US Capitol. “That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America,” said Harris. “It should never be desecrated in that way.” Last week, she told a crowd at a Detroit rally: “One of the things that I know brings us all out today and always is we love our country. We love our country. We love our country. And I do believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country. That is how we preserve the promise of America”.

The opening shot of Harris’ first 2024 campaign ad, titled “We choose freedom”, is footage of an American flag, followed by a voiceover from Harris explaining gun restrictions and abortion as issues of “freedom” and stating, “we believe in the promise of America”. Tim Walz has adopted similar language to discuss abortion, arguing that it should be a woman’s right to choose. “Older Republicans used to talk about freedom,” he said at a Wisconsin rally. “These guys today, it turns out that freedom to them means Government should be free to invade your exam room with your doctor.”

Despite the change in tone, Harris is still straddling the line. During a speech to the United Auto Workers Union last week, she said, “We know we are a work in progress.  We haven’t yet quite reached all of those ideals, but we will die trying because we love our country and we believe in who we are.”


is UnHerd’s US correspondent.

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Benedict Waterson
Benedict Waterson
1 month ago

maybe they can reclaim fascism from republicans

Caradog Wiliams
Caradog Wiliams
1 month ago

Isn’t it strange how generations pre-1945 in America and the UK grew up believing that their respective countries were great, especially after a gruelling war? But subsequent generations believed that we should have felt guilt at winning the war and that it would have been better to lose?
For 70 years, more and more young people actually hate their own country – that same country which has nurtured and schooled them and made them relatively safe and rich. “The flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America,” said Harris. But that is apparently only true with old people or very successful people. The conclusion must be that we would all feel better today if we had lost the war. In that event there definitely wouldn’t have been any pro-Palestine marches.
The article only says that old people favour Trump.

UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
1 month ago

I remember when there was a rally to support the first Gulf war, and my husband and I stopped to watch. Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” was blasting out of the speakers, and a man next to us was singing along. When the music stopped, he turned around and told us that the song was the most patriotic song ever written. My husband told him to listen to it closely, because it was an anti-war song. He huffed at us and left. There’s a difference between patriotism and jingoism. (I’m a very patriotic military brat.)

Geoff W
Geoff W
1 month ago
Reply to  UnHerd Reader

I see it not as an anti-war song, but as a song about how a veteran of a particular war feels let down after his return home. That’s not unpatriotic, unless patriotism means that you’re never allowed to criticise your country or its government. And after all, the whole point of the MAGA people is that they feel let down.

Brett H
Brett H
1 month ago

“we believe in who we are.”
Which is what exactly?

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 month ago

Not everyone in the Dem party hates America, but everyone who hates America supports the Dem party.

Daniel Lee
Daniel Lee
1 month ago

“This vocal patriotism marks a pivot from the attitudes of the American Left in recent years, with the US being cast as structurally racist and the national flag as Right-wing.”
Such a perfect example of the rhetorical/political jiu-jitsu the Left is so good at. Trump describes damage the Left has done to the US and the Democrats respond with, “So, you hate America!!”
Then they add, “We love America so much we have to completely change it because it’s evil.”

Arthur King
Arthur King
1 month ago

No one is buying it.