“We’re not going to make America great again. It was never that great,” declared Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wednesday. His statement, clearly intended as a political jab at President Donald Trump and his popular “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, sparked outrage across the nation. Trump was quick to react, stating, “Can you believe this is the Governor of the Highest Taxed State in the U.S., Andrew Cuomo, having a total meltdown!” Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is currently running for governor of Florida, called Cuomo’s comments “absurd,” arguing, “We’ve done things that no other country has done. I think the country’s a great country.” He added, “I think we are on the right track now more than we were the last eight years. New York is on the wrong track, and people are fleeing his state because of his bad policies.” Fact check: True.

But honestly, Cuomo’s comments are merely par for the course for Democrat Party leaders. They’ve been regularly expressing this sentiment for the better part of 20 years. Hillary Clinton essentially said the same thing when she called half of America a “basket of deplorables” (arguably the remark that best exposed her hatred of America’s foundational values).

A cursory look at the modern Democrat Party’s political platform speaks volumes to its low opinion of America’s greatness. As the Left further cements its takeover of Thomas Jefferson’s party, it ironically acts in opposition to those very values upon which its own party and this great nation were founded — namely Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Democrats’ growing preference for socialism while calling for greater limits on capitalism has fast become the party’s political guiding vision.

The truth is Democrats have been singing this tune for some time now. Who can forget Michelle Obama’s “For the first time in my adult life, I’m really proud of my country” remark upon the election of her husband? Speaking of her husband, Barack Obama’s view of the U.S. was overtly negative, as he often blamed America for causing much of the world’s ills. He rarely seemed to have anything positive to say about our nation’s history or her exceptionalism. In fact, he sought to fundamentally transform the country into a nation that conformed to his leftist ideals, while regularly seeking to subvert the Rule of Law enshrined by the Constitution — often circumventing Congress to do so. To modern leftist Democrats, America is the problem, not the solution. To them, America is not Ronald Reagan’s “shining city upon a hill.”

To be a Democrat today is to oppose the very essence of the values that created this great nation in the first place. That is why they cannot admit that America was ever a great nation, let alone that it continues to be one.