Turning away from Trump supporter relationships.

[Funtatlaguy]

I recently overheard a conversation of an acquaintance.
She was someone that I had hoped might become a friend.
But, the conversation I heard had her expressing how great Trump is.
Now, I just want to keep her only as an acquaintance, if even that.
What's weird about this is how I have changed.
I know many Repubs. But, I am not close friends with any staunch Trump backers.
Somehow, it just seems so different with those who back Trump.
It's like I'm, for a new word, a Trumpaphobe.
I just have no respect for people who voted for him especially if they continue to support him after these horrid six months.

Anybody else look at people this way now?

[Snotcicles]

1. Yep. I do. I can't be "friends" with those I don't respect. nt

[drray23]

2. absolutely.

For me anybody who voted for Trump and still support him is lacking moral fiber or they are truly dim which is not good either. So yes, I would and have severed relationships on that basis.

[Sienna86]

3. Have distanced myself from those friends who support him

I honestly don't feel there is hope they will change their minds, no matter what Mueller discovers. It's like they are brain-washed. I have to move away from the toxicity of their wish list for our country.

[Doreen]

4. I have some other reasons as to why I broke off my

friendship with my life long best friend but that is one of them. Before she did and said some awful things to me and about me she talked about supporting trump because she thought the Mexicans need to go home and she blamed Democrats for making the laws that gave her a bad time with some property issues while trying to sell it. Those were the only two reasons. That was just before she pulled her crap on me and I remember thinking that she was not the person I grew up with anymore. There you have it.

[Bettie]

5. I hold Trumpers at arm's length

They are not to be trusted and they have different values than those I associate with the kind of country I'd like the US to be.

I don't hate them, but I can not trust them. You can not be a truly decent person and support that creature.

[3catwoman3]

6. I have found myself reluctant to make new friends.

I live in a red county in the largely blue "collar counties" of Chicago. My own little town was featured on NPR as a "Republican stronghold" in Illinois.

My husband and I have recently started a new exercise class, and I have met a couple of women who are very friendly and seem like they would be fun to know, but I am reluctant to pursue anything. If they turn out to be Trump supporters, we wouold have nothing in common.

How pitiful is this?

[Funtatlaguy]

7. My feelings exactly.

I've never looked at people this way.
Even strolling through a mall, in my mind I am guessing which passerby are Trumpers.
I never did that with Reagan or the Bushes.
I HAVE to deal with some family Trumpers. I don't need any new ones.

[narnian60]

66. Every word you said

is true for me, also.

[ProfessorGAC]

80. Sounds Like DuPage!

Did i get that right? I'm from Will.

[3catwoman3]

85. McHenry.

You and I could be friends -

I've often thought it could be fun to arrange some sort of IRL meet up of DUers who live within a manageable distance. I know, I know - we would all tell our kids (if we have any) NEVER to go meet someone you only know from cyberspace.

[ProfessorGAC]

103. The Chicago Area Folks Used To Do That

More than a decade ago, but we actually got together a few times.

Some of those folks are still active DU'ers too!

I used to play a club in Woodstock. Can't recall the name right now, but played there about one weekend a year for around 10 years.

Nice joint, decent size so we could bring it nearly our entire show. Wish i could remember the name. I do recall having to drive up there and back on a Saturday night once, in DENSE fog. Took 3 times longer to get there and back than usual. Up and down 47 in the dark and a dense fog. Big fun!

[vlyons]

8. You don't need to get overly involved with inferior people

By inferior, I mean stupid, cultish, racist, gossipy, and lacking in virtue. You can still be kind and respectful if you see her.

[broadcaster90210]

91. Well said.

nt

[Grown2Hate]

9. I was never this way with people I knew that supported Romney, McCain, even BUSH. I enjoyed a

back and forth and some good-natured arguments, and yes, friends of mine would piss me off with their ignorance at times.

But it wasn't anything like this.

NONE of the people I just named were out and out racist, misogynist, unpredictable MONSTERS that have whipped a small army of like (un)minded assholes into a frenzy against decency, respect, our democracy, and even fucking FACTS, for that sake.

This is different. This is not normal. I can't abide anyone that supports this monster.

I have some friends that are apolitical and don't really know what's going on, but that's a different ballgame altogether. Even them I don't have much in common with, though, so we don't spend a lot of time together.

[Bettie]

73. I had the same experience

and I think the worst thing since the election is that the people I thought were decent people who simply had a different idea of how to get to the greater good overall turned out to be racist, misogynist monsters.

They thought it safe to take off their masks and now they revel in their hate and their election of a guy who is literally the antithesis to everything they claim to stand for.

So, liars or delusional, I avoid them. At family gatherings, I read silently and converse only when I am forced to. I don't see my own relatives becasue they are worse than the in-laws.

[Girard442]

88. "They thought it was safe to take off their masks..."

Damn, that's good. Really captures the phenomenon many of us have experienced. And...once you know there's a mask and there's something ugly under it, there's no way to go back, no matter how hard you try.

[Alice11111]

109. Yes, I used to talk to them, Bush, Reagan, but Trumpsters

are mostly racist and ignorant, or very greedy and uncaring of others, or all of those.
The healthcare debates have magnified what ignorant monsters they are.

[Heartstrings]

10. I haven't spoken to my brother in over 5 months...

I don't need nor want to hear his "excuses" for his continued support for this administration. As with a few other family members and friends, I see them in a different light now and our values just don't jive.

Sad......

[luvtheGWN]

22. It's incredibly difficult to understand how people who seem decent

in every other way would vote for, and continue to support, Trump. I'm going to have to rewrite my will to eliminate bequests to my American nephew and nieces, all of whom are do-or-die Republicans, and have still not denounced their moron of a president. Fortunately, the two daughters of one niece have seen the light and are more in tune with their late Canadian grandmother (my sister). But the son and daughter of my nephew, both of whom are in the military, have not, and probably never will.

[lunasun]

55. You could leave money to charity in thier name instead

[snort]

52. If it helps,

I heard "sad" in the voice of Gollum.

[jrthin]

11. I will not have a relationship with 45's voters because

I think they are morally bankrupt.

[The Wizard]

12. Life is too short

to suffer fools.

[Corgigal]

13. They fell for a con.

With just a little due diligence, they could have researched the information and gathered facts. They rather do feels instead. Since they fell for this con, I don't have a need for them in my life. I'm human, like all humans I can fall for a con too. I don't want any info from them, I don't even want it near my brain. I'm selective on human bonding now, I don't want to hear what they are marketing. I will make my own decisions with the best info I can find.

They would be standing in Berlin and watching planes go overhead, in WW2. They will be the last to see a damn thing.

[Alice11111]

110. Actually, they like him, they didn't innocently fall for him.They are what he is... lack good values

[TomSlick]

14. It's really difficult to try to talk with Trumpsters but

I refuse to give up. The answer has to be for thinking folks to talk one-on-one with Trumpsters. You probably won't convince them. If you do convince them, they probably won't admit it. However, it is the answer.

I've told a Trumpster friend that he is my canary in the coal mine - when he quits singing Trumps song, the game will be up. I greet him with "Still singing?"

One of the country's problems is that we have become so polarized that most of us only talk with people with whom we agree. My answer is to talk - calmly and logically - with Trumpsters waiting for the day they regain their sanity.

[barbtries]

56. there are only 2 people i know i can do that with

and i do. one of them i begged to vote for hillary, but i am fairly certain he did not. after a month or 2 of trump he did admit that at least if she had won, we would not be watching this shit show play out. but still. otherwise people like my brother, it's spitting in the wind.

[TomSlick]

120. Batting .500 gets you in the Hall of Fame.

So far you're ahead of me. You've given me hope.

Thanks!

[barbtries]

124. thank you

but i did not succeed in convincing anyone to vote for hillary to my knowledge. i just got one guy to admit that trump is a shit show. sigh

[TomSlick]

125. That's a win!

On to the next one.

[GulfCoast66]

15. I have friends and family that support him

But none are as politically tuned in as I am...they are not freepers nor very religious. We never talked politics much and still do not. They just are not that interested. But they are great hunting and fishing buddies. And like beer and bourbon.

They remain friends.

[murielm99]

16. I have one friend left who is like that.

We have agreed to keep politics out of things, and to have a purely social relationship. I like his family, too, and most of them see politics my way. We just don't discuss any of it.

I love all of them. I went to his mother's funeral today. I could tell by his face, and by everyone else's reactions, that they were glad to see me.

Most of my other friendships with repubbies have gone by the wayside. What a way to live! 45's hate is poisoning us all.

[Funtatlaguy]

62. Your last line.....45's hate is poisoning us all.

That is so true and so sad.

[narnian60]

67. Yes.

[Snake Plissken]

17. I feel the same way It's tought to be friends with people who place place racism and bigotry above

everything else.

[Scarsdale]

65. Boggles my mind

how I can converse with my relatives in the UK, and they KNOW more about what is going on in US politics, than lots of Americans do. They see right through Don the Con and his family of cretins. They wonder what is wrong with the US voters, to be so blind to this hoax. Oh, well, they still wonder why we in this country tolerate the lousy "healthcare plans" that supposedly pass for coverage. The NHS is not perfect, but it beats the US non-system all to HELL.

[stevepal]

118. I think we should quit beating ourselves up.

Hillary won the election. Gore won his election. Kerry won his election. The Republican Party has become a criminal organization and probably the greatest threat to the survival of not just the US but the whole world. The MO of the party is voter suppression and rigged or hacked elections (voting machines). After this goes on for a while people actually think these results are valid and just give up.

The people of the US remain good-hearted. The Trumpsters are just the percentage of people anywhere who are easy to lead by the nose, the easily manipulated, the easily conned. If we didn't have Fox News and the Limbaugh imitators ad nauseum on radio, the number of these easily conned people would be cut in half. When you hear only one side of a story all day, every day for years, it's just like drinking poison. It gradually destroys the system and then the whole body.

[OregonBlue]

74. Exactly Snake. Whether they admit it or not, Trumpkins are racists. I cannot be friends with them.

[mtngirl47]

18. Since I can't decide if the Trumpers are racist or stupid,

I find myself staying away from them.

As for my family members who supported him---I can only talk about the weather, and say the kids are fine. I can't respect them any more--and I wonder if they even realize that I have stepped back from our relationships.

I have hoped that they will wake up one day and see the truth, but they have drunk the kool-aid and will never admit that they are wrong.

And because they know that I am a bleeding heart liberal Democrat--they won't even admit to me that Trump is screwing up the world every day that he sits in the White House.

[mountain grammy]

19. Yes. I haven't spoken to my husband's family

I just can't. I listen to their Obama hate for 8 years. Enough.

[Mr. Ected]

20. My mother-in-law is a lifetime Democrat

Who somehow found herself listening to right wing radio last year and became one of "them". She's an outspoken Trump fan and now my wife and I feel alienated and distant.

[LiberalLovinLug]

38. That is so sad

Forget religion,

RW fake news hate talk radio is the greater bane of society.

[Cosmocat]

68. My mom was a lifelong JFK democrat

Had a small personal care home out of her house, watched a lot of CNN when it first came on, but I noticed Fox on late in the 90s.

I still remember taking her out for lunch during the 2004 primary, and we started politics and she angrily said how disgusted she was with democrats, particularly Howard Dean. That took me back, Howard Dean was her kind of guy, but Fox had chewed him up over "the scream."

It got worse, they sucked her in ...

[CanonRay]

21. Yup, see Trump bumper sticker

And think asshole

[GoCubsGo]

23. I think "sucker."

It amazes me that people are so willing to advertise that they are easily duped.

[LittleGirl]

24. I feel the same way!!!!

Honestly, I never use that many !!!! but I am afraid to make new friends. If they support Trump, they are out!

[Butterflylady]

75. Same here

We try to feel people out first before we get to friendly. We just moved into a 62 and older complex and want to make new friends but are leery of doing so until we see which way the wind blows, so to speak, before getting to friendly. It's tough because my husband is very outspoken when it comes to "orange face" as he calls him.

[LittleGirl]

78. Welcome to DU Butterflylady

Yes, orange face is a great way to refer to that idiot.

[chwaliszewski]

25. Same here.

I have friends that I worked with for over 7 years that I've maintained friendships with for the past 10 years that I can no longer talk with because they are die hard Chump supporters. One of them, who was a very good friend, I talked to after the election and they said "Don't worry, everything is gonna be okay. Trump will do a good job. You'll see.". I told her I thought all the stuff, and then some, that has happened would happen. We didn't talk after that Nov. conversation and I had to unfriend her from Facebook because of all the sore winner trolling she was doing. I warned her to stop but she didn't listen so I unfriended her back in January. She called me back in May and said she missed my wife and I and could we still be friends? I told her okay but no talks about politics, though. Eventually, the conversation veered in that direction and she said "If people would just let Trump do his job, he could get things fixed." We haven't talked since. This was a friend of almost 18 years, banished, just like that because of her allegiance to the Tangerine Nightmare.
The same goes for my older brother and his son. We don't talk because of his Trump allegiance.

[Funtatlaguy]

63. Sorry for your losses.

Sure they are painful.

[mreilly]

82. "If people would just let Trump do his job, he could get things fixed"

When I hear that I immediately translate it to: "If the woman being raped would just let her rapist do his job, it would all be over soon."

[anneboleyn]

86. His golf schedule just won't let him do President stuff!

[Glimmer of Hope]

26. I ran across this post on a message board and it made me realize

that they are too far gone.

"i would say if you are anti trump you are a victim of hillary and soros 1.5 billion dollar and probably more psyops campaign against you (i know you are rejecting this information right now) and should isolate those negative feelings as false ... frankly if you haven't rejected cnn as false and all the other media that are simply propaganda bullhorns you may be already too far gone and are at great peril.."

[barbtries]

57. omigawd that made me laugh out loud.

talk about projection. many of these people are fully sucked into the cult of personality and actually do not have a handle on reality right now (hope they will someday). Reading the twitter thread where donald jr himself posted the email thread and one person commented, "this is fake news."

i mean it was coming directly from the president's son. the person could not accept the truth. period.

[Missn-Hitch]

117. Now that made me laugh. "this is fake news". Ha!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

27. Divide & Conquer

This is exactly what the plutocrats and oligarchs in the 1% want for our entire planet. They, via organizations such as Heritage Foundation and Club for Growth, choose the most divisive issues (many of which previously were non-issues) to rail on during elections such as abortion and gun control to get elected. Those issues have little to do with their actual agenda. The daily rhetoric of right-wingers is precisely designed to achieve more division, and I can recall instances of that since the Nixon days (remember Spiro Agnew?), but mostly around election time.

I fear that by closing the door to any of our fellow citizens, we are falling for the divide and conquer master plan. Thom Hartman's recent article on indentured servitude (posted on DU and Hartmann's site) clearly points to the end-game of this process. It hurts to witness us marching backwards. With most people I know these days, I just simply will not allow politics to come into our conversation.

[Juliusseizure]

61. Yes this

Trump is a consequence, not the cause, of this heinous strategy that the GOP adopted years ago. The GOP needs to divide the populace to exist.

It's not addressed in the media, yet dominates the extremely toxic political culture.

[Cosmocat]

69. Yep

This divide and conquer by separating a HUGE chunk of this country from reality was in place LONG before 45 cane down the elevator.

[NewJeffCT]

99. They've already started this for 2020

early on, they determined that Cory Booker was a potential threat in 2020, and I saw some supposedly left-wing memes criticizing the money he received from the pharmaceutical industry. However, if you actually dig into the numbers, it was almost all individual donors (89%) and it's hard to avoid having donors in that industry in NJ when the state employs something like 250k people in the industry. And, if I recall, the meme originated in Jared Kushner's NY Obersver newspaper.

Then, in 2 or 3 years, that meme will have been out there for a long time and been recycled around every progressive site out there. Sure, most of us won't believe it (or will vote for Booker anyways, if he is the nominee), but they only need 1 or 2 out of 100 to stay home or to vote Green to swing close states like FL, NC, WI, MI, PA, etc.

I strongly suspect we'll see similar seemingly Left Wing memes for Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and whoever else is a potential contender in 2020.

[Cosmocat]

100. Remember when the great hope was that the Internet was going to equalize AM radio?

I don't get it, I am nothing special, but my bullshit detector smells stuff like that out 99.9% of the time.

It just is not that hard to detect when something just isn't right.

But, people have bullshit injected into their veins 24-7 and are vulnerable enough that it that pretty much everyone is infected now.

[Locrian]

79. +1000000000000000 yes

Thank you for this.

They WIN when they divide us. And it's evidently working.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

128. The Irony

The real irony is that in the long term, those who built this vast right-wing conspiracy machine will be losers, too. Human suffering has its limits!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

96. +a zillion

I admit I find it difficult to be around trumpanzees. Luckily there aren't many in my circles.

I did have a "Yikes" moment with two colleagues. One I never see and never clicked with anyway--she went full-on foaming at the mouth, raving, and proclaiming deep love for "her trump" on my FB page. Ewwwwww. So no loss there.

The other is, apparently, a friend of that one. Her I liked, but when I saw her cheer on the nut-case's list of rw lies supposedly proving Fatass's great accomplishments, I realized she'd been showing me a mask.

I'll be friendly when I see her at work again, but I definitely feel different. Guarded. I'd wanted to get together sometime, build a friendship, but I don't think so now.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

130. What a shame

I breaks my heart to see our country divided over politics, which should unite us! I'm seeing families divided and very cold business and social relationships very common now, whereas in the 50s and 60s when I was a kid, that was not the case. We had social divisions due to class divisions (mainly rich and poor), but politics was rarely discussed.

We as common folks can ultimately repair these divisions (time heals all wounds), but not until we get big money out of our political system AND out of control over much of our public media. Although there are hundreds around the world, I can think of no better examples at the core of this problem than the Murdochs and the owners of Sinclair Broadcast Group.

[NewJeffCT]

98. welcome to DU

the RW is excellent at exploiting any potential rift among their opposition.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

129. Thanks!

Thanks for the welcome, and I love the slogan below your post. Have a good weekend!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

28. I wouldn't make any new friends with Trump supporters

Existing friendships are different. I try not to be too hasty in ending existing friendships. Sometimes it is good to have a cool down period. People make mistakes and change. I'm sure I have a few friends that have voted for Trump, but they are probably ashamed of it because no one I know is really vocal about supporting him. I'm not as close with my Republican friends because they are just not open minded enough for me to feel at ease around them. I feel like I have to censor myself around them.

[davekriss]

29. I am completely with you, Funtatlaguyi

I have zero tolerance for Trump supporters. The information on this low-brow grifter was out there long before the election. There is no excuse for voting for him. There's even less sense if anyone still supports this guy. Unless they share the same vile values. Sad.

On edit: I never thought in a million years I'd prefer GWB over another Republican President. But GWB looks like an affable misguided guy - someone fun to have a beer with - compared to this thug.

[Bluepinky]

76. Trump is horrible but don't forget how really bad George W's administration was.

He and his friends stole the election from Al Gore; they weren't paying attention to warnings and allowed a devastating terrorist attack to happen on 9/11/2001; they passed tax cuts to benefit those with the most wealth; they outed a covert CIA agent and lied to the American people to justify invasion of Iraq, with aspirations of stealing its oil; they condoned torture of prisoners of war, inciting hatred of the USA and decreasing our standing in the world; Bush appointed two very right wing Supreme Court justices; Citizen's United allowed unlimited money to flow into political campaigns.
George W may have seemed like a nice guy because he let others (Karl Rove et al) do his dirty work for him. He ran a smear campaign against McCain in the primary, appealing to racists via innuendos about McCain's adopted black daughter. Ditto during his reelection campaign against John Kerry.

[pnwmom]

30. I even have trouble dealing with people who aren't Trump supporters --

but profess not to care.

How can anyone not care?

[SJMULE]

31. I have former friends who became aquaintences

But as a Single 45 yo. male, I currently like to go out socially and embarass my trump voting "friends". Every once in a while I get a debate but currently they have no defense and I use that to my advantage and then back off and joke about their POTUS

[onit2day]

37. He is not a POTUS. He is a PINO

[nancy1942]

32. I avoid them like the plague.

I truly detest anyone who swallows that garbage.

[Lotusflower70]

33. It's bizarre

I have had Republican friends but these Trump humpers are a whole other breed. The level of stupidity and hate is ridiculous. If a person is rational and reasonable, I can talk to them. But if they start with the conspiracy theories and batshit paranoia, I don't want to hear it. I have no time for those who got played for suckers. Most don't know it yet and even fewer will admit they got played. But those frothing at the mouth about how wonderful he is need to stfu.

[onit2day]

36. Well said.

[czarjak]

34. Imagine living next door to Archie and Edith....

[onit2day]

35. They don't want to know about his lies

Either misinformed or stupid or closed minded but i do the same, keep m,y distance because after all his lies and horrid behavior the only way to not know what a creep he is is to not want to know. At this point all his supporters that remain are sociopaths or complete a-holes inside. Beware

[SJMULE]

39. Then I'm doing God's work

by confronting them and asking them if they are "EMBARASSED YET?"

[roamer65]

40. Dumpism is a cult. Just like the People's Temple.

There are a lot of similarities between Jim Jones and Donny Dump.

It is best to stay away or be very distant.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

97. Truth. And as someone above said, if they're still capable of conversing

I won't necessarily cut them off. I prefer to demonstrate what a Liberal person looks like---some of them have never met one! (Thinking back on someone I knew during the rise of the teaparty.)

But totally immersed and saturated kook-aid people? Hay-all NO!

[hay rick]

41. Trump support speaks to people's character and basic values.

I can coexist with people whose opinions I don't share. With Trump people, I not only disagree with their opinions, I disrespect their opinions. There is no future for us.

I went through a preliminary round of shedding friendships and distancing myself from family members in 2000 with George W. Bush. I had very few long-standing relationships left when Trump happened, so the personal hit was less traumatic. I retired a few years ago and became very active in the local Democratic Party. My friends now are mostly people who volunteer with me. They are my new, real family.

[Rhiannon12866]

42. Absolutely. I don't know a single person who can stand Trump.

I suppose there may be some among the people I run across, but of those I'm actual friends with, not one. Before the election, I walked outside with a group of colleagues and I heard the word "Trump." I couldn't help myself, and I said I'd vote for the next person who drove by rather than Trump - and no one disagreed with me. And if anyone had, they would have been in for an argument...

I'm not argumentative, but people generally know how I feel. I've found that even people I don't know well feel comfortable complaining about Trump to me.

[jg10003]

43. My brother is a Trump supporter, but he is still my brother and will be long after Trump is gone.

[Awsi Dooger]

44. I had a splendid conversation with a right wing neighbor last night

He's white and roughly 50, didn't go to college and not very bright, so I always assumed he was Republican. He provided further evidence on election night when he was outside chirping once it became evident Trump was going to win. I've mentioned previously that I dissected the result very early based on Steve Schale tweets so I gave up and started packing for a trip scheduled for the next morning. This neighbor was following me to my car and giving me all the details about Trump carrying Florida, and so forth. Yeah pal, I've known for more than an hour.

He's putting in a backyard pool so I've been watching and helping a little bit. Last night was the first time we discussed politics at any length. Familiar stuff. He refuses to believe anything about the Russia connection. He doesn't trust the media at all and is convinced it slants everything against Trump.

When I asked him what was more logical...that a media comprised of tens of thousands of people from all areas and backgrounds was not telling the truth, or that one desperate person was not telling the truth, he became agitated and tried to insult me, waving his arms. "Oh, you're just like (another neighbor's name), liberal fools." Then he turned and walked toward his back door.

I laughed and told him it was very familiar, that conservatives always run away from conversation once they exhausted their three sentences worth of simplistic ammo.

He turned and pointed fingers at me, launching profanity. I laughed while he attempted to insult me further. He had CNN in there 3 or 4 times and some type of intentional mangling of Hillary's name. Quite prototypical.

I imagine I won't be invited to test drive his pool.

[Still In Wisconsin]

45. I hate every last TRUMP supporter and wish them nothing but misery and pain.

That is all.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

46. I'm with you.

The very vast majority of my friends and relatives are liberals. Those who are Trump supporters I either ignore or dissociate myself from.

Not too long ago (after the election, maybe a bit before) I accepted a friend request from someone I'd worked with some 40 plus years ago. I have no idea when he became a right wing asshole, but at some point he did. He posts a lot of crap on FB supporting Trump and all memes right wing. I invariably push back. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't unfriended me. I will not let bullshit like that go unchallenged.

[gordianot]

47. Yes

[NRaleighLiberal]

48. no trumpeter friends (as far as I know). Hard to be friends with someone for whom I have no respect.

there's only my brother - and we are not on great terms.

[tenisfin]

49. Totally agree. . . .

I have a somewhat controversial opinion on this topic. I believe that since Cheeto began his political career questioning and demanding the papers of the first black President, he is therefore a racist and a bigot. Since he was open about this racism and felt no need to hide it, his supporters, therefore, are racists and bigots. If he had tried to hide his bigotry or couch it in other terms, I could at least understand some people being fooled, but this was not the case. It was all out in the open! My wife and I know several Trump supporters and we will never feel the same toward them again. I will always know that whatever else they are, they are also racists.

[mchill]

50. I'm always relieved when I meet a new friend and they hate Trump

For those I suspect might like Trump, like my new neighbor, I just don't want to know because it's not going to change our neighbor status.

[ThePlasticMen]

51. Depends, man

I differentiate between die-hard Trump supporters (those with Trump signs plastered all around their lawns) and those who voted for him because they were duped into seeing HIM as the "lesser evil".... Many, who fall into the latter group, are beginning to come around and see that this campaign.... was nothing but a farce--orchestrated by an authoritarian minded con man. If only those millions of reluctant, moderate voters had seen this sooner. Man, that woulda spared us from this emotional and political roller-coaster. But they didn't and I don't hold any grudges....
Whereas the die-hard, MAGA, "I-will-die-with-this-wreck" asshats don't get an ounce of my sympathy.
"Game over, man, game over"

[Binkie The Clown]

53. Even my radically right-wing sister voted for Hillary over Trump, and can't stand him, so...

... yes, there has to be something seriously wrong with anyone who voted for that P.O.S.

[barbtries]

54. oh, yeah.

lots. i got a prescription for klonopin after the election so i could maintain professional relationships with certain people at work. one of them, with whom i had a conversation prior to the election, gish-galloped me and kept saying something to the effect of "we all want the truly deserving to be taken care of..." or words to that effect. I wish to high heaven i had thought quick enough to say "please define truly deserving" but i didn't. however i have harbored actively hostile feelings toward her since. she no longer works where i work thankfully.

also i have not bought a single thing from my avon lady since she showed up with a huge drumpf button on her jacket. she was chatting with the woman described above when i caught sight of that. i found another avon lady and it's all online and i have to have the stuff shipped, but fuck it. i won't support her anymore.

last but not least, when i visited home last week, i arranged to meet with my niece and her family (she has a baby 1 year old) somewhere other than her father's house. he's my brother and i love him, but he's a foxbot and no telling what could happen to our relationship if he starts talking shit. like i told her, i won't say anything, but if he does it's on, and it could cause a rift that may never heal.

[MountCleaners]

58. They're delusional

I only have a few acquaintances who voted for Trump, but I feel disturbed being around them. It's clear they are delusional. One of them has a "9-11 Was an Inside Job" bumper sticker, another thankfully moved to Arizona to work as a border patrol agent, so I never have to hear from him again. But in my experience, there is something wrong with them. It's just crazy to put your trust in an inexperienced billionaire to begin with, and this Russia stuff is no surprise to me. I mean, these people are really poor judges of character.

I just wanted to add that I was in an abusive relationship when I was younger, and being around Trump supporters makes me feel like I did when I was in that relationship. They're very controlling and domineering and think they are never wrong about anything. And they will deny reality and lie to your face again and again. That whole unreality they live in - that's what reminds me of abusive relationships. Scary to think how many of them are married with kids.

I think a lot of us are having a hard time coming to terms with the realization that a very large number of Americans have serious psychological problems, but when I look at the individuals I know who continue to defend Trump, there is not one that I can say has a decent grasp on reality.

[Pauldg47]

60. I read a article that basically said Trumpsters are narcissists too.

[Pauldg47]

59. Me too I left my small group at my church for the same reason...

..I am a Trumpaphode too for sure....At my recently disbanded church everyone was flashing their Trump badges in the church prior to the election and all they wanted to talk about during meetings is how Trump was going to save the U.S. and how Obama destroyed our country. I moved on to another church and my wife still goes to their small group because she said they are her friends. Oh God!! Brainwashed!!

She asks if she can still have meetings over our house and I refuse to let them in my house. They use the n-word frequently and they are ugly.

I said to her I will not want them around my house....Its effecting our marriage because to her I sound very immature.

She thinks Im so negative that I call them traitors to our country...she does not understand.

My new church has a female African american pastor and a mostly white parish and we love her dearly. Our cross overlays the star of David and we're not male dominated. It is the 1st Congregational Church.

P.s....it is my way of sending a message. Also, my wife has attended church w me a few times. I guess in her heart she doesnt know how to pull away from that graft.

[bucolic_frolic]

64. Trumpaphobia

sure to go viral

[HAB911]

70. Absolutely

I have five previous coworker/friends who I refuse to communicate with, even putting their telephone numbers on block. It's for both of our safety.

[KrazyinKS]

71. Yep and many of them are family

I do not want to start any static with them so I try to avoid the subject altogether. Which usually doesn't work with those guys. My husband want to go to Denver but I have a sister there, a Trump supporter, and I dare not go. I also hate driving through western Kansas.

[mdbl]

72. It's very difficult to respect stupid

I have the same problem.

[Funtatlaguy]

77. Something I've always wanted to ask a Trump voter.

Oh, you voted for Trump? Then I assume it's ok to grab your genitals.

[LS_Editor]

81. Family relationships have been brought to near-breaking point.

Contact is extremely limited with them by me.

[Missn-Hitch]

116. Hear, hear. I guess blood is not thicker than water.

It's pretty much past the breaking point for me. Oh well. I have (maybe) 30 to 35 years of life left. Going to enjoy it the best I can.

[Texin]

83. One thing not discussed is how Chump appeals to many (most?) older Americans.

Both my parents were life-long Dems. They would never have supported a repuke, but as they both grew older and increasingly more infirm, they began listening to repuke talking points. This was not related to their income status (my dad was a proud member of the UAW). He passed away in 2009 and was not able to vote for the prior four years or so because he was in late-stage dementia. My mother actually supported Bush because she was afraid of Obama. And both my parents were bewildered by how all the population shift was becoming increasingly multi-ethnic. They felt threatened by all the changes occurring around them. I think many older Caucasian individuals see the demographic shifts and the shrinking of the traditionally-held positions of power among the Caucasian majority as an existential threat. Their diminishing physical conditions brought about by aging and the rapid growth of more diverse cultures made them only too aware of everything that was being "lost" to them.

I was dismayed by the actual fear I saw with my own mother and there was no allaying those fears. I realize that most(?) of those actual tRump voters had more bigoted reasons for supporting this sack of dung, but for many of this cretin's voters, it was/is more related to pure, unadulterated fear that's at the bottom of their fanatical continuing support.

[wolfie001]

95. Yes, your observations are 100% correct!

It's a race issue. Drumpft supporters are racists. Stupid, old, overweight, white racists by and large.

[SpankMe]

84. Yes, absolutely.

Whenever a Trumper I'm acquainted with finds out I'm not a Trumper, they immediately squint at me with this expression that says "how could you POSSIBLY not be pro-Trump" as if it's overwhelmingly obvious that Trump is good and right.

We are absolutely 2 Americas. I don't think we'll recover. Not in my lifetime.

Hell of a way to go.

[chwaliszewski]

87. The frightening thing to me is this...

The way all of us feel about the many Trumpensteins out there (How could they be so stupid? Why do they want to destroy our country? etc.) is exactly how they feel about all of us. That's some scary shit, right there.

It's almost as if we are all on a ship together and it's taking on water. All of us liberals and progressives are trying to bail the water out of the ship and they are pouring water back into it while giving us a look of "What the hell do you libtards think you're doing?" It's truly sad and frightening.

[samnsara]

89. i have distanced myself from my little sis who just had an organ transplant and..

..finally left her a-hole hubby in N Idaho and living in my town close to seattle. Shes STILL a trumper even tho his healthcare would have stripped her of a way to pay for the 20K a month in meds she needs to survive. I have been waiting for 15 years for her to move back so we could be sisters again but she continues to blurt out shit she hears on fox and loudly blamed liberals for the congressman's shooting in the base ball game awhile back. I don't get it and shes totally disappointed me. Now I have to work dbl time to make sure her healthcare is saved....instead of hanging out with her and having girls shopping days.

[Paka]

90. I have family members who voted for Trump.

However, most of them are now ashamed and humiliated. Those that can't see the folly of their ways are not worth dealing with.

[jimlup]

92. Yes exactly

I have a very serious problem with anyone backing Trump. I have unfriended someone on facebook. I can accept mainstream Republicans assuming that they are embarrassed by Trump but if they are not, I have a very hard time calling them my friend.

[lark]

93. Yes!

My boss! She has an MBA and has been a Director at a large medical billing company for over 30 years. She's married to a Chief of Surgery, so the whole family is well educated. She's also a Repug, through and through and supports drumpf. She never acts racist and we have many AA working with us. She's sympathetic to family issues and goes to church regularly. ACA has been a major boon to our industry, yet she still supports Repugs. too bad she doesn't get bonuses because if this affected her personally, I know she'd be reacting different. But since it's only our patients that are going to be really hurt by anything R's approve in healthcare changes, she's still a trumpette. I used to have some respect for her as a person, but no more. She's so blinded she still thinks Drumpf is better than HRC would have been. She doesn't care if the company is hurt and no raises forever because she has her husband's income to rely on and they will just pay their children's healthcare, no sweat for them.

it's so bad, her son and daughter-in-law actually work for Rick Scott! Who would do that?

So for these and lots of other reasons having to do with her and her new boss also being a trumper and ass, I will be retiring in 4 months. I can't stand to lay off people I've been working with for 18 years and they won't listen to my objections, so peace out.

[mwb970]

94. I have no trump worshipers in my life.

I would never form a relationship of importance in the first place with the type of the person who would join the trump cult. Brainwashed people are not my thing. I don't have any super-religious people in my life either for much the same reason.

[srobertss]

101. anxious

I live in a mostly blue area, so don't have much occasion to talk to Trump supporters. With the few acquaintances I know who support him, they seem like such nice people, it creates a cognitive dissonance that makes me feel anxious. They're very involved with one of the new big churches, so I assume that's where they're forming their views. I dont know, I cant stand to talk about it. I just cant reconcile my opposing feelings.

[MFM008]

102. Yes

Same.

[dembotoz]

104. if they never hear the truth they will just assume everyone agrees with them

[MurderMittenLiberal]

105. Never seen anything like it...

I remember W. being in office and rolling my eyes listening to his supporters, but you could at least have a somewhat intelligent/civil debate about the decisions coming out of the White House. From time to time you might even get a "I support Bush but I didn't like his view on...". Those days are gone. These people can't be reasoned with. They refuse to believe the orange one can do anything wrong. Anything standing in the way of Trump and his campaign "promises" is just being blamed on the Obama administration. Any new evidence of collusion with Russia is blamed on CNN promoting "Fake News'. These people have excuses that seem to have been thought up by a 6 year old, and just like a 6 year old, they use these excuses and feel like they've won the argument and put on a sneer. I never thought I would say I miss William F. Buckley jr. but I feel the Right side of the political spectrum lacks even a single voice of reason. Every morning I wake up and check the news hoping a bombshell so big has been found that it can only mean impeachment, I just pray it comes soon.

[hamsterjill]

106. I cut several ties on election day.

I will admit that I worried about doing that. Some I'd been friends with for decades.

But now, 8 months later, I can honestly say that I've not missed those people. Election night was a line in the sand for me. I realized just how different I am than the people who supported Trump. I realized that what they want out of life and what they want for our world is completely and utterly different than what I want. And I gave myself permission to be okay with the fact that I am different because I think my approach and my thinking is much better for our world, and much healthier.

Most of the people, I've come to realize, weren't true friends anyway. The "friendships" we shared were pretty much one sided, with them gaining the benefit of having me as a friend in my (less-than-humble-I-suppose) view. Don't get me wrong. I don't want any of them to die a horrible death, or live a life that isn't fulfilled, even. I just want them to go about their business, and I'll go about mine. I no longer care what they think or how they may judge.

[BigDemVoter]

107. Oh yes, indeed.

[Alice11111]

108. I struggle with some family members out of state, Texas, to

Maintain decent relationships, by avoiding the subject...there are hostilities that can erupt though.
I wont make friends w Trumpsters...very few common values or interests. I have the same thing with UK in laws who are Brexit, including my partner...they will readily make fun of DT...but then, they carry on about the immigrants, making their Italian vacations less desirable and having to wait 15 minutes to see their doctors.
Last weekend, out of state, in Nebraska, I overheard a corner of where we were carrying on about DT...supporters. Then, in Denver, layover, in a bar, one side
Pro and one against.
Even some of my Dem friends back in Texas, are much more conservative...love Meghan Kelly, gritted teeth to vote for Hillary, after Benghazi, Whitewater. They are surrounded by people whose bullshit they have bought.
I found myself arguing, and I wanted to distance myself...probably mutual.

Fortunately, I live in a very blue place, and at least, my daughter and her family out of state, are never trumpsters. My daughter lives in a red state, purple area, and she keeps pushing me to move there. I don't want to be around Trumpsters. The daily news is bad enough.

It's values, ignorance, money, how informed people are...that all contribute to why we select a person to represent us towards achieving objectives for which we stand. The few Trumpsters I know, I now say fast hellos to, and get away.

The election has realligned friendships and family. I'm sick and tired of being referred to as a leftist, in a derogatory way, by the bigots and no nothings. Fuck them all. I'm a socialist...I want a mixed economy of government and business, capitalism, but not capitalism run amuck, DT businesses and family, Repubs. The government should provide basic services like healthcare and education. So, I suppose I'm left of center, but the Trumpsters are so far Right, they have to expand the spectrum. They are destroying our country, standing in the world, & heartless.
Other than those I have to try and keep peace with, I don't want to be near them.

[Marthe48]

111. How about the people who say both are bad?

I just bitched out my nephew on FB because he continues to say trump and Hillary are both bad, that Dems are as bad as repukes, that the whole system is rotten. He said the same things all through the campaign, and I am sure he influenced people to vote something besides Dem or stay home. Very early on, people should have realized that Dems are not as bad as repukes, and they need to stop insulting the politicians who do work for Americans.

I added the meme showing how many repugs (209) have been convicted compared to Dems (4) since 1968.

What's sad to me is that he should know better.

[boblgumm]

112. Saving Grace

This is certainly a vexing sticky wicket. I divide my friends who voted for Trump in three categories. 1. Those who were more or less up on the issues (they "followed politics&quot and now express regret. 2. Those who are political idiots and still love him. 3. Those who aren't real up on policy or politics and went more for stuff like "I like that he is a non-politician business man," and who maybe aren't reflective enough to have regret or a sense of responsibility for their actions. I can come to terms with the ones and the threes, but not the twos. A 1 told me he thinks Hillary, had she won, would be doing a better job now. I am in the process of trying to bring a 3 around to the side of good. I am helping her understand the bad places Trumpworld could be taking us by having sex while listening to Rachel Maddow. These things take time.

[Demtexan]

113. I hate republicans period.

I want nothing to do with them.

[Honeycombe8]

114. Me, too. These Trumpers are different from normal people. They just are.

Whether they are incredibly stupid, uninformed, or whether they are secretly racists & bigots and haters, or whether they will sell the country & other people out (like in Germany in the 1930s) so that they personally get something out of it...whichever of those they are, I want no part of it. I have nothing in common with such people & no respect for them.

Unfortunately, I have some in the family, so it's tricky for me.

[yuiyoshida]

115. THEY have been brainwashed by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh for all these years

and conditioned to accept, what for mos,t is unacceptable.

[geek tragedy]

119. I have zero Tr*mp-supporting friends.

1-2 that held their noses and voted for him because of Supreme Court and dislike of Hillary.

But zero people who actively support him. Those dumb fuckers are a plague on this nation and the entire planet.

[Amimnoch]

121. I have dropped family, and friends completely from my life.

Never had a problem with friends or relatives who were Republican. I have no room in my life for any of them that supported Trump.

[sagesnow]

122. I will walk clear around the block to avoid a Trumpster

jBecause of that, I do get some exercise here in the heart of Redneck, USA.

[OldRedneck]

123. Exactly.

I have backed away from a number of people whom I know to be Trump supporters.

On the other hand, a few of them are ve-r-r-r-r-y quiet about politics now that he's been on display for 6 months. I really believe they regret their support but don't know where to turn.

[GatoGordo]

126. It isn't a litmus test for me. Life is too short to hate.

I have many friends who are not Democrats nor liberal. I don't agree with their politics, and I might question their intelligence some times, but in all honesty, a friend is a friend.

I don't have a visceral hatred for all things conservative.

I try to keep a Bob Ross mentality about people. No mistakes. Just happy accidents.

[mahina]

127. I don't hang around with idiots.

Once they make themselves known, I've got better things to do.