Learned Dad voted for Trump

[Anonymous]

Stuff like this is funny to me.

I’m part of the generation who always proclaimed we would have fought Nazis and offered shelter to Anne Frank. Yet, here we all are negotiating how close we want to be to the people who voted our own Nazis into power.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean par for the course here in Texas. My kid voted for Trump.

Yikes. Bad parenting. No critical thinking skills?

[Anonymous]

How does your dad feel about you being out of work directly due to his vote?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First you need to decide whether or not to verify that information. You cannot condemn if you're not entirely sure. You can choose to wait a bit and sit with your feelings until you feel emotionally ready to confirm.

Second, if it's true, I would advise having a talk with him. He's never going to change his mind if he's not confronted with victims of who he voted for. But you need to be in an emotionally stable frame of mind to do this, otherwise it won't go well.

I advise you to write out your facts, maybe aided by an online search, to lay out to your father"
1. all the USAID victims who will die from not getting life-saving medication and food,
2. all the patients in the US who will die from having their clinical trials stopped, and all the generations who will suffer from not having life-saving research conducted at NIH and thanks to NIH grants.
3. Layoffs are one of the points, by no means the only points.
4. Immigration cruelty and legal black holes are something to talk about: it's OK to want more control over borders. It's not OK to throw people in detention with no means to call their lawyers and no paper trail for anyone to find them. Some will die in detention, and it will be hard to find them. There is wanton cruelty abuse in the new ICE processes that are antithetical to how modern societies should behave.
5. Tariffs.
6. Bailouts of Argentina.
7. Bailout of farmers.
8. etc...

I’d assume even if the horrible things you’ve listed seem not to impact him or far from TX, how does he feel about inflation, Epstein, bailing out Argentina, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does your dad feel about you being out of work directly due to his vote?

I bet he’s proud.

Maybe OP will finally get a “real” job if he’s a man or get pregnant if she’s a woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's dad voted for Trump.

Mine didn't. My grandpa didn't.

Mine absolutely did not, but I fear he’s going to have a heart attack one day as he reads the latest in a litany of moronic things Trump is doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can’t cope, it’s probably better if you don’t discuss politics.

I understand how frustrated you are. I’m a conservative who has voted straight Democratic tickets since Trump and his MAGA cronies turned the Republican party into a cult. It astounds me that my parents who taught me how precious our freedoms are that are enshrined in the Constitution and how dear the price was to obtain and keep them, now follow someone who endangers them.

To whatever extent you can cope, remember that they’re the ones who taught you to love this country. They truly want what is best for the country, but they just disagree with you on what that is. Keep in mind that their opinions are likely based on misinformation and omissions from deliberately misleading news outlets. If you’re up to it, have respectful conversations (remember, in a free country people are allowed to be wrong), and offer them FACTS that they may not have been exposed to. Show them quotes from Trump, but don’t take them out of context. What Trump says is inflammatory enough, you don’t need to twist his words, and doing so will just undercut your position. Show them quotes and commentaries from conservatives like Judge Luttig, Elizabeth Warren, Adam Kinzinger, etc., who oppose Trump instead of giving them the liberal talking points. They may never agree with the liberals on the issues, but you need to convince them that Trump poses a danger beyond the issues, because under a dictator, issues cease to matter. Also, as hard as it may be for you to distinguish the difference, Trump is NOT a conservative. Despite the fact that he has coopted the label, he actually stands opposed to most of their values.

This is where I’d start a dialogue, if you’re up to it (Trump talks about terminating parts of the Constitution to prevent election fraud, when he’s made it clear that he considers any election he doesn’t win as fraudulent. If your parents actually believe the 2020. election was stolen, you probably need to start with the many Republicans, including Trump appointees, who publicly stated it was a fair election that Trump legitimately lost):
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/trump-rebuked-for-call-to-terminate-constitution-over-2020-election-results

This sounds so reasonable and sensible. However, I think people who support Trump support him because they like what he does. I know that Trump supporters always cite some disinformation, as why they support Trump and the democrats are so evil, and Fox News feeds a steady diet of lies. However, Trump is so clear and straightforward in what he says about undermining 1st amendment rights, attacking those who disagree with him, trying to undermine social security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and kissing up to dictators. I think Trump voters know exactly what they voted for and they like it. Trump supporters just don’t really care that much if we live in a democracy or if first amendment rights are supported. Thats just not important to them.

My 80+ y.o. uncle thinks Trump is funny. He likes that Trump makes smart, hardworking liberal people upset.

He is a lazy guy who never had a career, worked under the table a lot, never graduated from college. He earned his last Social Security eligibility quarters in his 60s. Most of what he owns was purchased with inheritance money from his middle class parents.

As long as he keeps getting checks, he doesn't care if everything burns. It's his FU to thinking people who care about logic in politics and the wider world beyond "I got mine".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could be like me and learn that your two daughters in college voted for Trump, against our wishes (and in swing states)

What!

[Anonymous]

I understand your predicament. But think about it this way, do you really want to ruin a relationship with your aging father over a POS like Trump?

[Anonymous]

A lot of the DMV UMC set are going to be blindsided by their kids’ (especially boys’) political beliefs. I work with college kids. Young people are much more conservative than their Gen Z parents and absolutely understand they have to lie about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just don't talk about it and don't think about it.

You do you. But I dont' prefer to spend much time or energy on/with someone who votes against my own and my own family's best interest. The OP has no job now thanks to Trump. That alone would make me disengage from any family member who actively supported that. The dad is free to his opinions, and the OP is free to disengage and not waste time with someone who isn't supportive of them. Quite simple

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just don't talk about it and don't think about it.

You do you. But I dont' prefer to spend much time or energy on/with someone who votes against my own and my own family's best interest. The OP has no job now thanks to Trump. That alone would make me disengage from any family member who actively supported that. The dad is free to his opinions, and the OP is free to disengage and not waste time with someone who isn't supportive of them. Quite simple

OP still has a job just a late paycheck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in DC and my parents live in Texas where I grew up. I've always known we didn't see eye to eye politically and we generally don't discuss politics to stay out of the fray. I knew my dad didn't vote for Hillary or Trump in 2016 and haven't really asked him his votes since. But I just learned he voted for Trump in 2024 and is standing by the vote. I am having a VERY hard time. Help me, DCUM. Do I just try and forget? Never discuss Trump or my job (I'm a furloughed fed) ever again? I don't want to lose my dad, but I just can't cope.

I could’ve written this. Except for me it’s both my parents. I was pretty shocked, TBH.

How do I deal? By understanding that they really don’t see politics the same way I do. I actually think a lot of Americans are like this. They have no true understanding of how the government works or should work. Mine were very surprised to hear that the govt shutdown has both my husband and I going without pay.

They will criticize Trump but it’s clear they don’t link their vote to what he’s doing.

We don’t talk politics very often. They are my parents and I love them. I think I just decided that I’m not letting Trump ruin my relationship with them like he ruins everything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the DMV UMC set are going to be blindsided by their kids’ (especially boys’) political beliefs. I work with college kids. Young people are much more conservative than their Gen Z parents and absolutely understand they have to lie about it.

My 26 yo son attended college in a purple state (one of the few that matters each election). He knows to get out and vote. he also has friends who voted for Trump. Thankfully he is smart enough to not fall for all of that. He also has coworkers (in a very blue area of the state) who only make $85K and voted for Trump because of taxes (so not smart enough to realize it's not helping them anytime soon). Hopefully he wont be turned anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just don't talk about it and don't think about it.

+1 this is what I would do.
My dad voted for trump, but he regrets it. Give it time, your dad will too. Just avoid discussion about it.