# A friend tells me he voted twice for Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 10, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087 "2024-09-10T21:20:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/1 "2024-09-10T21:20:52Z")
I have a friend. We were both at U. IL and were fairly close, but we both left, me 55 years ago, he shortly after. We are not close now, but exchange letters maybe once a year. In a recent letter to me, doubtless in response to a letter from me that assumed he would be voting against Trump, he said that he had twice voted for Trump. I was appalled and have not replied. I don’t know what to say. I thought I knew him. I think he has been warped by living for 50+ years in Alberta, AKA Texas North. What would you do (assuming you are not a Trumper)? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/2 "2024-09-10T21:34:11Z")
Physical letters or emails? If the latter, I’d just quote with a comment, “That’s regrettable”, and move on with the rest of the response. And if he wrote back to complain, I’d start to explain by first pointing out some important bits of the Constitution and then go on to demonstrate that all of the evidence against Trump was established by Republican sources - mostly his own appointees - and in fully transparent, unbiased courts, with high-level lawyers on his side, unable to make a successful case. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/3 "2024-09-10T21:38:19Z")
“You voted for him TWICE?! That’s election fraud! Oh, you meant two different elections? Sounds like electoral dysfunction, but at your age, that’s not uncommon, don’t worry about it.” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/4 "2024-09-10T21:45:32Z")
Don’t reply. No need at this late date to throw caution to the winds about a friend for so many years. Let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/5 "2024-09-10T22:18:33Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Let it go. Yeah, that’s pretty much what I decided, but I thought I’d ask the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/6 "2024-09-10T22:31:23Z")
I’d grimace and bear it and move on. After all, nearly half of America supports Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/7 "2024-09-10T22:40:08Z")
I’ll bet that he uses Miracle Whip on his sandwich too. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/8 "2024-09-10T22:42:24Z")
Pretty much, if I found someone voted for trump in 2016, I would figure they didnt know any better. If they also voted for him in 2020, they would no longer be a friend. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/9 "2024-09-10T22:58:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Pretty much, if I found someone voted for trump in 2016, I would figure they didnt know any better. > > If they also voted for him in 2020, they would no longer be a friend. Wow, are some of you petty. Seeing that 45.93% and 46.80% respectively (notice a higher percentage the second time around) voted for him chances are high you know _someone_ who supported Trump twice. I have pretty strong political beliefs. But I don’t fill my friend circle based on that one topic. How boring it must be to surround yourself only with folks who are exactly like you. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/10 "2024-09-10T23:03:14Z")
I cut every person in my friend circle and my family who voted for trump out of my life permanently. I have not regretted it for a moment. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/11 "2024-09-10T23:14:05Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Seeing that 45.93% and 46.80% respectively (notice a higher percentage the second time around) voted for him chances are high you know _someone_ who supported Trump twice. Yep, I had three friends who did that- they are no longer friends. I can excuse 2016, but if you voted trump 2020 you support bigotry and government by threats and intimidation. Fortunately we had already drifted apart, and basically were just friends on FB and an occasional card. OTOH, I had over a half dozen solid republican voting friends that became "never trumpers’ after 2016, when they found out the truth. See, it is not one topic. It is bigotry, government by threats and intimidation, and the intent to end democracy as we know it with a fascist wannabe sorta dictator. That is at least three, and I can list more. I have a few friends who are anti-abortion- but they became angry after seeing young girls who were raped forced to give birth. So, on this we can compromise= we agree abortion should have some limits but not be totally banned. And so forth. Reasonable compromise discussion. Not supporting a sort of american fascism. > [@mozchron](#): > > I cut every person in my friend circle and my family who voted for trump out of my life permanently. I have not regretted it for a moment. If they voted trump 2016, but became “never trumpers” by 2020, I forgave them. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/12 "2024-09-10T23:15:26Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I have pretty strong political beliefs. But I don’t fill my friend circle based on that one topic. > How boring it must be to surround yourself only with folks who are exactly like you. Nobody has said anything remotely like this. I’m sure that was just an oversight on your part and not a sneaky way to insult people. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/13 "2024-09-10T23:25:48Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > > [@pkbites](#): > > > > I have pretty strong political beliefs. But I don’t fill my friend circle based on that one topic. > > How boring it must be to surround yourself only with folks who are exactly like you. > > Nobody has said anything remotely like this. I’m sure that was just an oversight on your part and not a sneaky way to insult people. No insult intended. Just an opinion based on an observation. Insisting that everyone you consort with think exactly like yourself sounds dull and robotic to me. Plus, it sounds exclusionary and bigoted as well. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/14 "2024-09-10T23:27:23Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Insisting that everyone you consort with think exactly like yourself sounds dull and robotic to me This is a strawman. > [@pkbites](#): > > Plus, it sounds exclusionary and bigoted as well. Exclusionary yes. Obviously. Bigoted no. Also obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/15 "2024-09-10T23:31:05Z")
So he has dual citizenship? Because otherwise how would he be voting in a US election? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/16 "2024-09-10T23:35:52Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I have pretty strong political beliefs. But I don’t fill my friend circle based on that one topic. There’s a point where someone goes from being in a position of political disagreement to a territory more in the realm of treason and un-Americanism. There’s no reason for an American who believes in the Constitution to back the false electors scheme. There’s no reason for an American who believes in the Bill of Rights to back someone who wants to politically persecute his enemies. If someone’s going around saying that they want to roll back the Constitution, then they’re announcing threats to my family, my descendants, my property, my livelihood and everything else. If they’re announcing enmity, recognizing it as so is just taking that person at their word. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/17 "2024-09-10T23:37:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > What would you do (assuming you are not a Trumper)? I don’t have a good answer for you and it’s possible that I will be faced with a similar situation in a few days. I’m getting together with an old acquaintance who, on one hand, used to base his beliefs on data and evidence but, on the other hand, was a conservative (Canadian and this was 20 years ago (well pre-Trump)). But he used to, in the '90s, like Rush Limbaugh. So I really have no idea what to expect. So I am curious as to the various answers here. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/18 "2024-09-11T00:10:13Z")
Of course. He is actually a NYC born Jew, scarcely different from me (I am from Philly) or my wife. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/19 "2024-09-11T00:24:34Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > What would you do (assuming you are not a Trumper)? I would drop him. I do not socialize with fascists. If he asked me why, I would tell him that I cannot reconcile his politics with my morality. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/20 "2024-09-11T03:28:23Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I’m sure that was just an oversight on your part and not a sneaky way to insult people. Not so sneaky. > [@pkbites](#): > > Insisting that everyone you consort with think exactly like yourself sounds dull and robotic to me. Plus, it sounds exclusionary and bigoted as well. There is a difference in just objecting to ‘normal’ political differences, and advocating for a determined authoritarian and proto-fascist demogogue, which Trump quite blatantly is. It is not “dull and robotic” to reject a politician who has openly advocated for political repression, espoused many factually invalid claims, and has told voters that they “won’t have to vote anymore” after electing him, which are explicit echos of late Weimar Germany circa 1933. Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087.md?page=2)