'MAGA hat on a stick': Americans say red-white-and-blue now the flag of Trump

Amid recent poll numbers showing a sharp decline in national pride, a new report by NBC News has revealed that many Americans now associate the U.S. flag with President Donald Trump and essentially consider it a “MAGA hat on a stick.”

As NBC’s Corky Siemaszko writes, whether or not to fly the flag was “never a question” for many Americans who, over the course of Trump’s two administrations, have become skeptical of just that. Ciemaszko spoke with Bruce Watson, for example, “who has put his national pride on display for years — and nudges neighbors in his small New England town to do the same.”

“I’m very proud of our flag,” Watson told NBC. “It’s the symbol of ‘We, the People.” But, writes Siemaszko, “as the polarized nation marks its 250th birthday, Watson, 72, worries his Stars and Stripes may now need an asterisk.” As Watson put it, “If we do fly the flag, we will also put out signs to make it clear that we are not MAGA.”

According to Siemaszko, Watson represents a growing number of people for whom the American flag has “been tangled up in politics and the policies of President Donald Trump.” This comes as surveys show a sharp decline in national pride and optimism for the country’s future over the past year, and “like Watson, some say the flag can be taken as an endorsement of the current administration.”

In response to this growing national angst, writes Siemaszko, “Rather than not fly the flag, several readers said they plan to show their patriotism — and protest Trump — by flying it upside down to signal that the country is in distress.” As Des Moines, Iowa, resident Dina Bannick put it, “Donald Trump has turned everything upside down, so it makes sense our flag should be upside down. It’s a shame. We used to be a proud nation. Now, our country is in distress.”

Some, rather than fly the U.S. flag, have decided to use an alternative flag. Master Sgt. Frank Chappell of the Air National Guard — a religious affairs airman and provides crisis counseling and spiritual care for people from all faiths or none — said he plans to fly the flag again “once I believe that the states are more united in vision, tolerance and empathy toward our fellow Americans.” In the meantime, Chappell is flying the flag of his home state, Pennsylvania, explaining, “Part of what makes us Americans is that we can meet in the middle, we can come together in the center and find things we can all agree on. But what Trump has been doing, through some of his rhetoric and policies, is driving a wedge between Americans, dividing us even further.”

According to one Philadelphia woman, while her father insists on flying the flag, “If it were up to me and my mom, we’d be flying the Pride flag or the Philadelphia Eagles flag, instead. I love our country, but I’m not feeling very proud of our country right now.”

And according to Siemaszko, "As a Rhode Island teacher, who asked not to be identified to protect her family, said she, too, is flying alternate flags — the rainbow pride flag and the banner of her beloved New England Patriots. ‘I was always patriotic, flew the flag, wore red, white and blue with flags and fireworks all summer,’ she said. ‘Now, I’ve watched Trump and MAGA turn the flag into a symbol of intolerance and hate.’”