Author Andrea Tate completely canceled Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations with her husband and his family last year after President Trump’s electoral victory because they all voted for the Republican ticket. This intense story highlights just how deep the political division has become in American families, showing that disagreements over the ballot box can definitely tear festive plans apart.
Tate wrote about the heartbreaking decision in an essay, detailing the terror and deep sadness she felt immediately following President Trump’s second victory over Kamala Harris. You can’t deny that the past decade has seen political differences turn into a sharp divide, with many liberals and conservatives convinced the opposing side wants to completely dismantle the foundation of the country. Tate’s personal reaction exemplifies this divide perfectly.
The initial breaking point happened on the morning of November 6, the day after the election. Tate found herself unable to get out of bed, instead opting to “doomscroll” through social media. She admitted she was unfriending people on Facebook who hadn’t voted for the Democratic candidate. This is where the situation escalated dramatically.
A vote caused a rift in a family
While scrolling, she saw a celebratory post from her own husband marking President Trump’s win. The post read: “God Bless America. God bless #45, 47.” Tate described feeling “incandescent with rage and sadness” after seeing his post. She couldn’t even look at or talk to her husband directly. Instead, she decided to text him, demanding that he take the post down “out of respect for me and all my liberal writer friends.”
That text also contained the devastating news about the upcoming holiday season. She added to her message, “Also, tell your family I love them, but I will not be coming for Thanksgiving, and I won’t be hosting Christmas. I need space.” That is a serious boundary being set, and you can understand why she needed that distance after such a shocking revelation.
Later that day, her husband tried to cool things down by bringing her coffee and telling her that he understood her decision. Tate then braved having a conversation with him to confirm the new holiday arrangements. She emphasized that she couldn’t just “bite her tongue” this time around, unlike how she had managed political disagreements in the past.
Tate felt that avoiding the gatherings was the only way to prevent an ugly scene. She told him, “I am sorry about the holidays, but I cannot bite my tongue like I did with Hillary.” She insisted that she didn’t want to disrespect her husband’s parents or his brother and his family either in their home or in her own home. She concluded, “No scenes. You can go see them. Seriously – I will not be in a room of 15 people who voted for Trump.”
For Tate, this wasn’t just about politics; it was about a perceived moral void between her and her relatives. She explained that she wouldn’t “unwrap gifts” given to her by people who voted for a party she believes has discussed building internment camps and mass deportation. This is awful for family harmony, but it shows how serious she felt about the issues. She further justified her decision by stating she wouldn’t “pass the turkey” to people she argues voted to take away women’s reproductive rights and harm vulnerable groups.
It’s interesting to note that while her husband understood her decision to cancel the gatherings, he didn’t argue about the change in plans for the holiday season. He also didn’t take down the offending post. However, we’ve seen plenty of Trump supporters regret it, and the damaged he’s caused turned many away from him.
Published: Nov 21, 2025 06:42 am