Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., said Saturday that Americans of all political affiliations should take pride in the nation's 250th anniversary, expressing disappointment over a new survey showing a sharp partisan divide in how Republicans and Democrats view the country's history.
Appearing on Newsmax TV's "Saturday Agenda," Aderholt reacted to a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll that found 82% of Republicans said they were extremely or very proud of America's 250-year history, compared with 28% of Democrats.
"Those are discouraging numbers," Aderholt said.
"This should be a time when all Americans — Democrat, Republican, independent, whatever party you're associated with — should be very excited about where we have come over the last 250 years."
The Alabama congressman acknowledged that the United States has never been perfect but argued that its accomplishments should be celebrated as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.
"We're not a perfect nation, but we are a light on a hill," Aderholt said. "We're a beacon of hope for the rest of the world."
Aderholt said the continued desire of immigrants to come to the United States demonstrates the nation's enduring appeal.
"I'd rather be in the United States than any other country I know of, to be a citizen of this country," he said.
"Quite honestly, I think it shows you by what we're seeing at our borders that most people around the world would like to be here in the United States of America," Aderholt said.
He said Americans often dwell on the country's shortcomings while overlooking its strengths.
"I think sometimes we can focus on the negative and we not focus on the positives of this country," Aderholt said. "We have so much to be thankful for."
Aderholt referred to the nation's semiquincentennial as America's "250th birthday," saying the Declaration of Independence serves as the country's "birth certificate."
He also emphasized what he described as the religious foundations of the nation's founding, pointing to the Declaration's reference to people being "endowed by their Creator" with certain unalienable rights.
"That means that there is a God," Aderholt said. "We recognize in this country that we are one nation under God."
He argued that the nation's founders recognized rights as coming from God rather than government and said that principle has contributed to America's success over the past two and a half centuries.
"I think that's why we've had this success that we have over the last 250 years," Aderholt said.
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