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When Politics Kill A Relationship, Accept Its Death
By Joseph Ford Cotto
Nov. 28, 2025
The holiday season makes demands. It demands that people walk into living rooms filled with memories, to hear familiar voices, and to remember that the past feels warm because it is shared. Yet this year, political fractures sit heavier than usual.
Molly McNearney, Jimmy Kimmel’s wife and the executive producer, as well as co-head writer, for his late-night show, made clear why.
On the We Can Do Hard Things podcast, McNearney revealed that she cut ties with family members who supported Donald Trump. She explained, “It hurts me so much because of the personal relationship I now have where my husband is out there fighting this man Trump, and to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family.”
McNearney later reflected that she emailed relatives before the 2024 election, pleading for them to reject Trump. She said, “I have sent many emails to my family, like right before the election, saying, ‘I am begging you. Here is the 10 reasons not to vote for this guy. Please do not.’” She received overwhelming silence or anger in return.
That silence speaks to a truth many Americans quietly live with. Loved ones sit across from each other yet struggle to recognize the world the other inhabits.
On his HBO program, Bill Maher argued that McNearney’s approach reflected a growing purity test culture among the left. His words rang true: “Ultimatums do not make people rethink their politics. They make people rethink you.” Maher, a committed Democrat, shared his views on McNearney’s list: “Ten reasons. I can think of 100. But I would never present it to someone as an ultimatum.”
Sasha Stone, at her website Awards Daily, confronted McNearney directly. She wrote, “If I’d stayed on your side, Molly, my entire career would not have been destroyed because I decided to vote for Trump in 2024. You’d probably agree with that – obviously you would. If you are willing to give up your family members over politics, then sure, what’s the 26-year career of a ‘woman-owned’ business to you?”
This candid reflection captures the personal toll of ‘liberal’ ideological conformity.
The research deepens this picture. A study from the American Enterprise Institute in April 2022 showed that 23 percent of very liberal Americans reported cutting off family communication over politics compared to 9 percent of very conservative Americans. Another AEI survey in June 2021 revealed that 45 percent of extreme liberals admitted to ending friendships due to politics, while 22 percent of extreme conservatives did the same.
The numbers aren’t opinions. They show one side far more eager to sever ties.
A national poll from September 2025 by The Argument, an online newsmagazine, reported that 40 percent of Kamala Harris voters saw it as acceptable to cut off family members over political disputes. It’s sobering to consider that nearly half of one voting bloc sees relationships as disposable when politics intervene.
Consider all of this as families and friends gather again. They pass plates, share stories, and smile while avoiding certain subjects. Among lefties, long-lasting relationships often seem more disposable now. It’s as if political identity has become a final test of loyalty. When that test is failed, ties are left to wither, and the relative or pal becomes a stranger.
It’s brutal when bonds break. It’s depressing when shared history cannot withstand a vote, a policy preference, or a partisan affiliation. Yet this is simply life playing out through human connection. Relationships, like every living thing, are born. They grow, they thrive, they decline, and, eventually, they die.
Trying to force one back to life cannot end well. Even if a dead relationship could be revived by niceties and false agreement, the result would resemble something grotesque. A zombie looks like a body, but it has no heartbeat, and it always causes problems. A revived relationship built on veiled resentment would be the same. It would lurch along, breeding tension and turning holidays into quiet battles beneath polite, but fake, smiles.
This is our country. These are our families and, perhaps, one-time friends. The long-held idea that Americans can agree to disagree does not hold like it used to. Accepting that ugly truth frees a person from illusions. While inviting on the surface, illusions soon enough pull one into a spiral of despair. What is no longer viable cannot be repaired by begging or scolding or persuasion, especially when delivered as an ultimatum.
This holiday season invites clarity. Life moves forward, as nature itself does. Holding onto the past is no more valuable than fool’s gold. Not everything broken can be fixed. Not every bond can survive the world we live in. When confronted with hard facts, the wise choice is acceptance.
The alternative looks nice, but it’s nightmarish.
Dr. Joseph Ford Cotto is the creator, host, and producer of News Sight, delivering sharp insights on the key events that shape our lives. He publishes Dr. Cotto’s Digest, sharing how business and the economy really impact us all. During the 2024 presidential race, he developed the Five-Point Forecast, which accurately predicted Donald Trump’s national victory and correctly called every swing state. Cotto holds a doctorate in business administration and is a Lean Six Sigma Certified Black Belt.
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