A few disclaimers before people come for my neck (because I am already anticipating a lot of pushback on this). For context (idk if it matters) Im a 1998 baby.

1. I am only talking about the people who voted for Trump and regret it. Not people who voted and are still supporting him.

2. There is a difference between willful ignorance and being a cruel person. Willful ignorance is a giant problem and it's how we got to where we are in the first place, but the root problem between willful ignorance and genuine evil is different. They are different conversations.

3. My overall message is that you do not have to be friends with someone who voted for Trump and now regrets it. At the same time, they do not have to be your enemy.

Look, when Trump was elected in 2024 I was one of those people who wanted absolutely nothing to do with anyone in my life who voted for him. I took that shit seriously. Whether they were a friend or even family, if they voted for him, I didn't want to be in the same room as them. I didn't talk to my family (aunts/uncles/cousins) for a year, Christmas 2024-Christmas 2025. I was so upset at how anyone could be so either cruel or willfully ignorant that they would allow this to happen.

I didn't care if they were a good person day to day and never really hurt anyone outside of their vote. Willful ignorance was enough to make me want to never see or interact with them again.

We are now approaching the halfway point of 2026 and, I gotta be honest. That attitude I had in 2024 is exhausting. It was so painful to carry all that hate with me everywhere I went.

I am now at the point where if you tell me you voted for him in 2024 and regret it and admit ignorance, and you treat the people around you with kindness and respect, I have no reason to have such a burning hatred for you. I might not want to sit around a campfire singing kumbaya and make matching friendship bracelets with you, but I will not view you as an enemy. It's what they want.

I know that idea has kind of lost its meaning at this point but it really is true. They want us to hate each other. They do not want a United people. They do not want a United States. They saw what happened in the French Revolution--they don't want that again. So they are polarizing on purpose. They are selective of the information and who its being fed to. Willful ignorance isnt an excuse and everyone is on the same internet, so it's not an excuse to say "I didn't know because it wasn't shown to me". However, there is something to be said about the fact that my algorithm was showing me an overwhelming amount of information about this administration that I never sought out in the first place, compared to someone who was NEVER shown ANY of it. Here I am in my little bubble thinking "how can anyone know whats happening and be okay with it?". I was thinking people were just cruel and heartless...come to find out they literally never knew.

There is something to be said about the fact that once they DID know, they changed their mind. I would like to think that if they knew earlier, they never wouldve voted the way they did.

Like I said in my disclaimer, I am not excusing willful ignorance. It's just a different conversation compared to, "You are a disgusting and vile human being with no morals".

I base my decisions on who to surround myself with based on how they treat others. I have watched some of my family members be so charitable and go to the ends of the earth for people they hardly know. I'm talking they will give the shirt off their back to a stranger in need. In the same breath, I've watched them go cast a vote for Trump... Mind-blowing. Now all those same family members rebuke him like the devil. I think it was Trumps attitude towards Pales*ine that did it for them. They were horrified by what they saw under Biden and for some fucking reason they thought Trump would be different. Clearly they were wrong and they've regretted their vote since early 2025.

Some other people I know, I wouldn't call them friends maybe moreso acquaintances, regretted their vote after Epstein files. I mean...better late than never, even if you're really fucking late, but alright I guess.

Listen. If you voted for Trump and now regret it, I don't view you as an enemy. I am judging your discernment ability and critical thinking skills, but I do not view you as my enemy. I may not want to be friends with someone who lacks critical thinking skills, but I don't hate you. I know you want the same things as we all do....To just be able to live a comfortable life the way you want to.

I think the more people that adopt this take the better. If you are just mean and relentless to people trying to come around, all you're going to have is a bunch of politically homeless former Republicans. If they're completely shunned from any other group, they're just going to default to voting for the next Republican bc they're ignorant and think that the problem stops at Trump. That, or they wont vote at all, and voter turnout worsens even more.

I don't know. Maybe a hot take maybe not. I just have hate apathy. I can't carry it anymore. If you are a good person to the people around you, that's my litmus test. That's it. I can't do the hate anymore.

Interested to hear other people's thoughts on this!

Edit to add an example of the grey area I am referring to:  I remember someone I was talking to didn't know about the ICE shootings in MN earlier this year. It was like 2nd week of February and they didn't know. They didn't see anything on their social media and no one around them was talking about it until me. Thats because the people around them also arent getting shown this info bc they are all the "target audience" for nothing if that makes sense. They were of course appalled when I told them.

This is where I get into a grey area of sorts. Yes, we all have access to the same info and the ability to do research. But...how are you going to look something up if you aren't aware of its existence? How is someone gonna look up "Renee Good shooting" if they didn't know there was a woman named Renee Good who got shot?

To publicly reject Trump would be to admit they were complicit in all the things he’s done up until this point. It would also mean they’d have to shed an identity that has infected every part of their personality and life. They’d have to face relatives and friends who had called them sexists, racists, fascists, homophobes, pedophilia enablers, rape apologists, etc.

They only have two options: admit they were wrong or double down. I think the majority of MAGA has already reached this conclusion and chose the latter. They’re going down with the ship no matter the cost.