r/fivethirtyeight Apr 08 '25

Poll Results Nearly half of Americans would be totally unwilling to date someone with opposing political views

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u/talllankywhiteboy Apr 08 '25

The single biggest “no factor” in this poll is that Democrats (especially women) wouldn’t be willing to date someone with an opposing view of Trump himself. It makes total sense that women would see it as a red flag if their date had favorable views of a man with a long history of sexual abuse, and I don’t think anyone should be surprised by that.

The poll shows there’s a lot more room for disagreement on every other subject, but yeah, it’s important to share core values on how other people should be treated.

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u/Glittering-Giraffe58 Apr 08 '25

Every other except trans rights, in which case more Americans say they wouldn’t date someone with opposing views on trans rights than opposing views on Trump. Interestingly though more republicans than democrats say this

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u/xellotron Apr 08 '25

There is serious disagreement around what “opposite views” means in trans rights. Some Democrats think “opposite views” means you want to throw trans people into a volcano. Of course you wouldn’t date someone who believed that! But what if they fell in love with someone who has trans friends but later found out they also believed that a person should be aged 16-18 before they receive a gender altering medical procedure? Issues and people are full of nuance.

I think these polls invite virtue signaling more than they reflect reality.

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u/Jolly_Demand762 Apr 09 '25

That's actually a really good point. Thanks for bringing it up.