Democrats and the American Flag: A Political Tug-of-War
Over the past week, viewers have been inundated with images of protesters in Los Angeles waving foreign flags, particularly the Mexican flag. In stark contrast, the American flag appeared mainly in disheartening contexts—either being desecrated or set ablaze.
Acknowledging the optics of these actions, which do little to bolster their image, some Democrats have taken it upon themselves to “reclaim” the American flag. There was even a call to action urging protestors to distribute American flags to create a more patriotic narrative.
In an effort to spin this narrative positively, the liberal outlet Politico recently published an article claiming that Democrats are successfully taking back the American flag:
Democrats reclaim the American flag https://t.co/m9dTYsEzOC
— POLITICO (@politico) June 13, 2025
According to the article from Politico:
Democrats’ latest strategy to attract voters features a renewed embrace of the nation’s most enduring symbol.
Just days before Flag Day, coinciding with a military parade led by President Donald Trump in Washington, Democratic Representatives Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) distributed American flags to their colleagues as a gesture of unity. This distribution occurred at almost the same moment that Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly escorted away from a Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles—an incident later labeled “unpatriotic” by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“Patriotism does not belong to one party,” read their accompanying letter. “The flag, and the values it represents, belong to every single American.”
However, this effort may be a desperate attempt to shift the narrative in response to an earlier Politico piece from April, where a Democrat argued that the party needed to seize control of the flag’s symbolism.
Refer to this article (emphasis added):
Elissa Slotkin, the former CIA analyst turned battleground senator, has outlined what she calls a “war plan” to “contain and defeat Donald Trump.”
In her first speech from a series addressing the Democratic Party’s way forward, Slotkin acknowledged the need to change the public perception of the party as “weak and woke.” She urged her fellow Democrats to “fucking retake the flag,” appealing to voters’ sense of patriotism, embracing a stronger, more assertive energy akin to that of Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, and suggesting an “airing out” of potential candidates for the 2028 presidential race.
Is it merely a coincidence that two months later, Politico declares that Democrats have successfully achieved this goal? If you believe in coincidences like that, there’s a certain bridge in Brooklyn that you might find interesting.
These attempts to rehabilitate the Democratic image come in the wake of disconcerting images like this:
BREAKING: Protestors from the group “Minneapolis ICE Watch” are seen shining shoes with the U.S. Flag.
The group is also calling for the release of a woman who assaulted federal agents during a drug and human trafficking raid. Just sick people.pic.twitter.com/vXMH0LLYOJ
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) June 13, 2025
What Democrats ‘reclaiming’ the flag looked like this week: https://t.co/kgXagvrOBO pic.twitter.com/1oVfVedD4l
— Ben Petersen (@bennpetersen) June 13, 2025
The media’s role in shaping the narrative for the Democrats goes beyond mere bias; it often veers into the territory of overt propaganda.
