Survey from Quinnipiac: Majority Oppose Discussing Politics on Thanksgiving Day

November 20, 2023 TruthUSA

A new Quinnipiac University poll reveals that over 60% of Americans prefer to avoid political discussions during Thanksgiving gatherings this year.

The poll shows that 61% are hoping to steer Thanksgiving gathering conversations away from politics, while 29% are looking forward to those discussions at the table.

Although down three percentage points from last year’s results, with 64% avoiding the issue, it follows the trend going back to 2017, keeping above 60% in each of those years.

The surveys were not conducted in 2019 or 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s survey included telephone interviews with 1,743 adults from Nov. 9-13 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points, according to the university.

USA Today reported Monday that the national political polarization has infiltrated family holiday gatherings for several years now and has torn some families apart.

According to the survey, there is plenty of blame for the situation to go around, with 35% blaming social media, 31% blaming political leaders, and 28% blaming cable news.

For the third time since 2018, a majority of those surveyed said discussing politics at family and holiday gatherings has gotten worse during the last year.

Joshua Coleman, psychologist, and author of “Rules of Estrangement,” told USA Today that current political events and discussions can raise lingering feelings and disputes among family members, so people need to be aware of the situations they find themselves in.

Another tip, offered in the report by Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a clinical psychologist and host of the advice podcast “Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic,” advises people to reflect on their motives for engaging in such conversations, and figuring out the objectives they hope to achieve.

“We want to focus on what brings us together,” she said in the report. “That could be our shared interest or shared experiences with people that we care about. Set ground rules. If you have to have the conversation, put guidelines around it because if you don’t, it’s going to get out of hand.”