The 250th birthday of the United States is upon us, and the milestone year happens to be falling in the midst of a presidential administration that has made the concept of patriotism … tattered.
President Donald Trump and his underlings have carried out, implied, or outright said some things that question just how patriotic their “Make America Great Again” movement really is.
But don’t take our word for it. Here are 11 deeply unpatriotic actions from Trump and his allies, compiled by Daily Kos staffers.
1. Cuts to care for veterans
The Trump administration has taken aim at a group it claims to represent at its fullest: the U.S. military. Despite promising that the administration was “finally going to give the veterans what they want,” in the words of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, many are suffering.
According to ProPublica, in Trump’s first year back in the White House, the Department of Veterans Affairs lost roughly 500 psychologists.
More veterans are now forced to face their mental health struggles without adequate government support.
2. Messaging around immigrants
Despite the Statue of Liberty’s promise of taking in the tired and poor masses yearning to breathe free, the Trump administration has carried out one of the largest deportation efforts in recent history. But it doesn’t stop there. The messaging behind their work has stomped Lady Liberty’s very own inscription into the ground. With memes and “X-Files”-themed websites, the Trump administration has worked overtime not only to deport immigrants but to dehumanize and vilify them as well.
3. Pardons
Pardoning controversial people is nothing new in the Oval Office. But the sitting president took that privilege to a new level when he exercised that right on behalf of the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to overturn Trump’s loss in 2020.
According to a White House website, many of the rioters were merely “peacefully protesting a disputed election.”
In reality, any claim of a stolen election is an outright lie, and over 140 police officers were injured as they tried to protect the Capitol grounds and the lawmakers inside on Jan. 6.
4. “Hellhole”
“America the Beautiful,” the famous patriotic song, seemingly left out the part about the nation being a “hellhole.”
“Your country is being turned into a third-world hellhole, run by censors, perverts, criminals, and thugs,” Trump said at a 2023 Turning Point USA conference.
And that sentiment is the basis for Trump’s main slogan, because to make America “great” again, you have to believe this country isn’t any good right now.
5. Erasing history
The second Trump administration started off by pillaging government websites to erase anything that smelled slightly of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” They targeted references to women, immigrant children, the LGBTQ+ community, and more. Even photos of the Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan, was scrubbed seemingly because it had “gay” in its name.
6. Sending troops into U.S. cities
In the past year, angry citizens have taken to the street to exercise their constitutional right to protest. And in the most patriotic response possible, Trump activated the National Guard and sent Marines into cities to address the growing unrest.
But for those who followed the chain of events, this did quite the opposite of quelling Americans. Instead, protesters like Alex Pretti and Renee Good lost their lives at the hands of federal agents.
7. Birthright Citizenship
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights – to freely participate in our political community,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion when the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship.
“The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today,” he added.
8. The American flag and its association with MAGA
While the president and his MAGA minions have attempted to co-opt the symbolism of the American flag, not all Americans are on board.
“If we do fly the flag, we will also put out signs to make it clear that we are not MAGA,” Bruce Watson told NBC News ahead of the Fourth of July.
9. Making the military partisan
Historically, the military has been separate from the political ideologies of government officials —a necessity to maintain trust in U.S. forces.
But with the departure of various military officials, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have put in the work to try to turn away from that effort.
10. Firing judges
In 2025, the Trump administration fired nearly 100 immigration judges. This accompanied the claims that the immigration system was too slow, but that judges were swayed by empathy for immigrants.
11. Trump’s own words
Actions aside, Trump has expressed his distaste toward the United States, including disparaging Medal of Honor recipients and prisoners of war.
Lest we forget, Trump said that the late Sen. John McCain wasn’t “a war hero” because he was “not captured.”