Son disowns mother for voting for Trump; how US election is driving American families apart

The political bitterness is not just causing a rise in hate campaigns in the United States but partisan politics and ideological cleaves are also driving families apart to the extent that have few parallels in history.

In a time of a president who unapologetically mocks his political opponents, body shames them and calls them by names that are widely seen as unacceptable in the Americal society, which is known for its "political correctness", ideological differences are causing tensions in bedrooms, among siblings and even polluting the pious relation of mother and son.

Such an example is of lifelong Democrat Mayra Gomez. According to a report by Reuters, when she told her 21-year-old son that she was going to vote for President Donald Trump in Tuesday's presidential election, he chose to part ways with his mother.

41-year-old Gomez, a resident of Milwaukee, says, "He specifically told me - 'you are no longer my mother because you are voting for Trump'. She says that her last conversation with her son was so bitter that she is not sure they can reconcile, even if President Trump loses power.

"The damage is done. In people's minds, Trump is a monster. It's sad. There are people not talking to me anymore, and I'm not sure that will change," Reuters quotes Gomez as saying.

Gomez is a fan of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigrants and the handling of the economy.

US elections drive a wedge between families

In one of the extraordinary cases to surface in American politics, six siblings of a Republican Congressman from Arizona endorsed his Democratic opponent in the 2018 mid-term US election and issued ads castigating their brother, according to a report in Times of India.

Most of the people, from both Republican and Democratic camps, believe that it will be difficult to repair the spoilt relationship in families and friends over Trump's tumultuous presidency, even after he leaves the office, with some of them saying that the relationships are destroyed completely.

Jaime Saal, a Michigan-based renowned psychotherapist, says he doesn't think the healing of the strained relationship is not easy as changing presidents, according to Reuters. Saal said tensions in people's personal relationships have spiked given the political, health, and social dynamics facing the United States.

Experts say the hate due to ideological differences has increased over the years during Trump's presidency.

Studies prove disrupted harmony

In the lead-up to the 2016 election, a survey conducted by ABC News found that 37 percent of Americans had experienced increased tension with relatives or friends because of the campaign.

A report by Pew Research Center published in September found that nearly 80 percent of supporters of President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said they had few or no friends who supported the other candidate.

A study by the Gallup polling organization in January found that Trump's third year in office set a new record for party polarisation. While 89 percent of Republicans approved of Trump's performance in office in 2019, only 7 percent of Democrats thought he was doing a good job.

President Trump is known for his norm-breaking presidency and stirred strong emotions among his supporters and opponents, through his words and actions. Most of his supporters admire his moves to toughen immigration policy, the appointment of conservative judges, his style of what they call talking tough and straight with their leaders at home and abroad.

Trump's critics, including Democrats, look at the former realtor and reality show personality as a threat to the democracy in the United States, a serial liar, sexists, a person who is hurting American interests aboard in a long run. They also criticize him for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 people in the United States so far. Trump dismisses those characterizations as "fake news" and pats his back for record testing and "wonderful" handling of the pandemic.