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Who argued about politics at Thanksgiving this year? New poll finds that age mattered

Did Americans talk about politics this Thanksgiving? Here’s what a new poll found.
Did Americans talk about politics this Thanksgiving? Here’s what a new poll found. Photo from Claudio Schwarz, UnSplash

Most Americans made it through Thanksgiving without quarreling about politics, according to new polling.

In a Dec. 2 YouGov poll, 72% of respondents said there were not any arguments about politics at their holiday celebrations this year, while just 12% said there were arguments at their gatherings. Thirteen percent said they did not celebrate, and 4% were not sure.

The results, however, varied significantly when broken down by demographics, according to the poll, which sampled 3,693 U.S. adults.


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Among respondents under 30, 23% said there were arguments about politics at Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, 5% of those ages 45-64 and just 2% of those 65 and older said the same.

Men were twice as likely as women to say there were squabbles about politics — 16% to 8%, respectively.

Additionally, 15% of respondents from the Northeast said there were arguments at Thanksgiving, while just 7% from the Midwest said the same.

Further, there were some differences in the results based on race. Among Black respondents, 19% said there were arguments at Thanksgiving, while 13% of Hispanic respondents and 10% of white respondents said the same.

Interestingly, there were no major differences in responses when broken down by partisan affiliation.

Sixteen percent of Democrats and Republicans both said there were arguments at their Thanksgiving celebrations. However, just 6% of independents said the same.

The poll comes after a November CBS News poll, in which 71% of respondents said they would try to avoid discussing politics at Thanksgiving. Less than one-third, 29%, said they would attempt to talk about it.

Avoiding politics at Thanksgiving has long been something of a tradition. A Morning Consult poll conducted in November 2020 found just 18% of President Joe Biden supporters and 16% of President-elect Donald Trump supporters planned to bring up politics during the holiday.

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This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 7:56 AM with the headline "Who argued about politics at Thanksgiving this year? New poll finds that age mattered."

BR
Brendan Rascius
McClatchy DC
Brendan Rascius is a McClatchy national real-time reporter covering politics and international news. He has a master’s in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in political science from Southern Connecticut State University.
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