(NewsNation) — Fewer than one in five young Americans say they are “extremely proud” to be an American, according to a recent Gallup poll. Those numbers are among the reasons GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he wants to “revive” a “missing national identity.”
According to the poll, 18% of people ages 18-34 surveyed said they are “extremely proud” to be American. In 2013, 85% of those participating in the poll aged 18-29 said they were either “very” or “extremely” proud to be an American.
Ramaswamy says it’s “hard to blame” young Americans “based on the economic experience they’ve had” in the U.S.
“Being told that if you work hard, go to school, get a four-year degree with college debt that you get ahead, this is personal for me,” Ramaswamy told NewsNation host Leland Vittert. “I’m a millennial. I entered the workforce in the fall of 2007, at a finance firm in New York on the eve of the 2008 financial crisis. So, I understand why young Americans are jaded and cynical.”
Ramaswamy believes that improving the economy will help increase patriotism among young voters.
“Young people do tend to be more proud of a country when we’re making more money in that country, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen under my watch,” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy said he wants to address top obstacles that many small and large businesses face in order to grow the economy and revive pride in the country.
According to Gallup, the percentage of U.S. adults of all ages who said they were “extremely proud” to be American is near a record low.