Fox News’s Fox & Friends Weekend host Rachel Campos-Duffy said her new book, All American Patriotism, is “the spinach getting tucked into the popcorn,” as it explores patriotism and America 250 through a collection of personal stories.
“By the end, you’re like, ‘Oh, yay, America!’ But you haven’t gotten a full history lesson,” Campos-Duffy told the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner obtained an early copy of Campos-Duffy’s book for this review.
The stories, gathered by Fox News personalities, reflect on what America and this summer’s America 250 celebrations mean, in an attempt to remember the country’s heritage and boost patriotism.
“We are coming up on this birthday, and I was like, I want to write something to sort of retell the story, like, can we recalibrate?” Campos-Duffy said. “Can we start anew and talk about why America is so great after 20 years of our curriculums and our culture sort of telling us we should be ashamed of it.”
The book takes readers through personal accounts of American pride, from road trips to tales of veterans to Friday night football to the nation’s unity in the aftermath of 9/11.
Campos-Duffy shared her own story as a first-generation American. Her grandparents came to America from Mexico, and her father was born in Arizona. Her mother is an immigrant from Spain.
“My parents were always telling me, ‘You are the luckiest girl. You are an American. You can do anything you want,’” she said.
The book details the accounts of 30 members of the Fox News family and includes a foreword by Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk.
“I hope people read the book, get to know our hosts a little bit more, see another side of them,” Campos-Duffy said.
She emphasized that one of the best ways to get to know America is one of the simplest: getting in the car and driving with family and friends.
“I hope that this book inspires people to get out there and see America and start to love America again, because that’s where we need to be.”
As the country approaches its semiquincentennial, Campos-Duffy said, “We can choose to love the country and make it better, or we can keep going down this other path of shame and sort of hating ourselves. And I just don’t think America deserves that.”
Campos-Duffy was asked to explain patriotism to a 5-year-old in one sentence.
“It means you love your country, but you love your country because your country is good, and we live in a good country,” she said.
She argued that the American spirit is being drowned out by dangerous rhetoric online. She said during conversations she’s had with members of Congress, they pointed to social media for causing a divisive shift.
“I think we’ve lost our way, and that’s what this book is about,” Campos-Duffy said. “And I think it does it in a way that’s not preachy.”
Her approach to combating differences with our neighbors: Talk about it right at the dinner table.
“If we can’t have respectful conversations inside of our family about politics, about religion, about tough topics, then we’re not going to learn to have them outside of our family,” Campos-Duffy said.
Campos-Duffy argued that respectful conversations and national unity start with reconnecting over shared community traditions, many of which happen just by being Americans.
“There’s all these different events around 250, but actually, the most important event is probably going to happen in people’s backyards.”
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“I feel like this book is a reminder that that’s where we got to get back to,” Campos-Duffy said. “We got to get back to ‘Friday Night Lights.’ We got to get back to family barbecues. We got to get back to all that and make that the center of what we talk about. And I think that will ultimately be unifying.”
All American Patriotism is available for purchase through Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers here on May 19.