I assume you are an average person contemplating a short visit for recreational (non-work) reasons to the USA.
Officially: There is an agreement between the USA and a collection of other countries whereby it is mutually agreed that US citizens can, without the need for a visa, enter/visit for a limited period those countries who have such an agreement. Conversely, the citizens of the same countries do not need a visa to enter the USA. Assuming you are travelling on a UK passport, then the UK (like many other countries) has a mutual visa waiver agreement with the USA. So, officially, the answer is "No", you don't need a visa.
However, the USA decided that all non-US citizens must be screened and approved before even being allowed to board an aircraft bound for or via the USA (note: at a foreign airport which by definition/supposedly is outside US jurisdiction). The process is called applying for an ESTA - this is nothing other than a visa application by another name. Why have the countries with visa waiver agreements not complained or at least cancelled the agreement until the ESTA is cancelled ? - Ask your own government. The whole thing (the visa agreements) is a nonsense, it is by now a one-sided decision not to require visas of US citizens (by not calling ESTA a visa the USA is being duplicitous). So, unofficially, "Yes" you need a visa, no matter what anyone calls it or says otherwise.