“No,” I lied through my teeth. “Been busy.” Clenching my jaw, I silently drafted the most pacifist and politically correct response possible. Before I could complete this routine mental exercise, he interrupted.
“Trump is destroying this nation. I thought he was going to help us, but he is making everything worse.”
At that moment, I realized that I had judged my father a little too quickly. Perhaps other conservative parents are following suit, leaning further away from the right as Trump bulldozes longstanding and fundamental U.S. institutions. Within three months of holding office in his second term, Trump has issued a federal hiring freeze and established the Department of Government Efficiency to destroy countless well-established federal jobs. He further abolished diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, withdrew from the World Health Organization and pardoned Jan. 6 rioters, among a laundry list of executive orders. Let’s not forget that Trump is convicted of 34 felonies himself.
My father defies the classic stereotype of a Trump supporter. He is not a bearded, white, Christian man who parades around in a scarlet MAGA hat as he blasts country music in a Ford truck. He belonged to a sect of Indian American men that Trump appeals to with his “America first” mentality. Despite our shared heritage with Kamala Harris, Trump held a grip over my father throughout the 2024 election.
Yet, Trump’s recent behavior crossed a line for my dad. Before, he felt as if voting red was most beneficial for our family, but those grounds quickly crumbled. In his opinion, blanket tariffs issued against China, Canada and Mexico will hurt the U.S. economy even more. If there’s anything my coupon-obsessed father hates, it’s expensive things.
It wasn’t just the current administration’s economic policies that displeased my father. Under another one of Trump’s executive orders, children born on U.S. soil to parents who are lawfully but temporarily present will no longer be entitled to birthright citizenship. Two decades ago, my father left everything behind so his children could live a better life than he did, as U.S. citizens. Trump’s executive order was a direct threat to his kids’ “American-ness,” which my dad took personally.
Fortunately, Trump’s shameful and radical behavior was enough to return my economically conservative father to a left-leaning moderate. For the students out there who grew up at political odds with their parents, we oftentimes believe that our families’ political schisms are irreversible. While it may be for some, I hope my father proved that's not always the case.
Next time a political conversation presents itself at the dinner table, invite the conversation with an open mind rather than avoid it. Give your parents a chance — you never know when they will come back around.
@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com
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