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Nation Divided Over Meaning of the American Flag

A new representative poll signals political, racial, generational divides are changing how people choose to display or refuse Old Glory.

Linda and Greg Cunningham fly the American flag outside their Pontiac, Mich., home on June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Corey R. Williams)
Jerry Esters stands in front of American flag outside his Detroit home on June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Corey R. Williams)
FILE - American flags fly in front of the U.S. Capitol at sunrise, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - Miniature American flags flutter in wind gusts across the National Mall near the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Overview

  • A national AP‑NORC poll of 2,596 adults conducted April 16–20 found 47% of Americans see the flag as a unifying symbol while 16% call it divisive and 36% say it is neither.
  • The survey found sharp splits by party, age and race with Republicans and older white adults much more likely to fly the flag and younger Democrats and Black adults far less likely to do so.
  • Only about three in ten Black adults report ever displaying the U.S. flag compared with roughly half of white and Hispanic adults, a gap interviewees linked to different historical experiences.
  • Reporting from NBC and follow‑up pieces in other outlets say many people now associate the flag with President Donald Trump or the MAGA movement, and some respondents report protesting by flying the flag upside down or substituting state, pride or team flags.
  • The coverage pairs the AP‑NORC’s representative numbers with local interviews to show both the scale of the split and how it is changing everyday rituals around the nation’s 250th anniversary.