Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

“Love it or leave it” was a slogan used by those in favor of the Vietnam War challenging those protesting. Pro-War advocates assumed that those protesting did not love their country, so they should leave. Today, there are approximately nine million American citizens living outside the United States. Do they love their country? They certainly recognize that being outside the U.S. separates them from the hard-core, America First, MAGA Trump followers. Many expats are angry, disappointed, and alienated from the Trump/Musk takeover. They are also perplexed: How to relate to what is taking place in Washington from abroad? What does it mean to be an American expat today?

Can one be a “globalist” and an American at the same time? What does it mean to be loyal to the United States from an overseas perspective while strongly opposed to the Trump administration?

Citizenship is an obvious tie between expats and the U.S. Although some of the nine million overseas Americans have taken up permanent residence status and others foreign citizenship, many maintain their U.S. citizenship. A small number have relinquished their passports, only 5,000 in 2024.

Whatever their status, each American abroad has cultural attachments to the U.S. This boy from the Bronx, even after five decades living overseas and two citizenships, still roots for the New York Yankees, the New York Knicks and the New York Giants. He continues to read The New York Times, The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books (The New York Post is only for its Sports page.). Still a sports fan, he does not have the same loyalty towards the........

© CounterPunch