Liberal parents struggle with Trump-voting sons, New York Times reports
2025-01-22
Category: political

Liberal parents are now the ones clashing with their conservative sons after the election, according to a New York Times article published Sunday. "When Eli brought a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat home from college this summer, [Alex] Behr threw it into the corner of his bedroom. They argued about guns, immigration and abortion, struggling to do so without permanently damaging their relationship," the article read. It continued, "’facts don’t matter to you,’ [Alex] Behr wrote in a moment of frustration during one text exchange about Mr. Trump’s legal battles. ‘love you. have a good day.’" In a twist from the old dynamic of liberal children fighting with their conservative parents, Callie Holtermann wrote that some progressive mothers are struggling with how to handle their sons voting for President Donald Trump.  TRUMP WON OVER GEN Z MEN BY BEING THE 'ASSERTIVE, OUTSPOKEN' CANDIDATE THEY NEEDED, YOUTUBER SAYS "Some liberal parents aren’t so sure they should try to intervene," she wrote. "Plenty see their sons’ embrace of Mr. Trump as an expected act of rebellion, or a choice made by an independent young adult that they should respect. For others, it has felt like a painful rejection of the values they have tried to instill in their children." "I’ve had to do a lot of soul-searching and reading about it to not feel like I’ve failed as a mom," Alex Behr told the New York Times.&nbsp; Though a majority of young voters still voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump gained significant ground with the youth vote and won 53% of men aged 18-44, according to a Fox News voter analysis.  Some parents pointed to social media and online conservative influencers for pushing more right-leaning political beliefs that seemed to have "affirmed [their] fears and vulnerabilities as [they were] aging into [their] masculinity." "I was like, who’s got a hold of my son?" Melanie Morlan told the New York Times. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE One young man, Max Sorokin, argued the shift was reinforced by the Democratic Party's failure to appeal to his demographic. "They didn’t even try to make young men sympathize with them," he said. "They sort of ignored them." His father, Alexei, was critical of his son’s new views, though he described becoming more frustrated with some of the Democratic Party’s censorious behavior.  "I told my son, ‘Look, you’re privileged,’" Alexei Sorokin said. "You don’t feel fragile because you’re young and healthy and white." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Most parents ultimately chose to continue loving their sons, in direct contrast to advice from liberal commentators. "I always tell him, ‘I might get worried about you and I might feel sad because I don’t think you understand some things that maybe you will down the road,’" Melanie Morlan said. "‘But I’m going to love you more when you’re struggling, because it’s just politics.’"