There are several things that Goldie Friedman* was looking for when she went on a date with her now-boyfriend. Undeniable chemistry, kind, engaging eyes and a gentle, nurturing spirit. One of the things she wasn’t looking for was a Trumpian lexicon, which revealed itself just 10 minutes into the date, as Friedman’s date began making references to ‘the liberal media.’ Fast forward three years, and today Friedman will be voting for Kamala Harris and her boyfriend, for Donald Trump.
Welcome to dating in an increasingly splintered political climate where, as Americans headed to the polls to cast their votes in the US presidential election on Tuesday, November 5, some women were essentially endeavouring to ‘cancel’ out their male partners’ votes at the ballot box. ‘What do you mean you’re on your way to cancel out your husband’s vote?’ reads one viral tweet. ‘You should be on your way to the courthouse. Divorce babe. Divorce.’
The divide between men and women is a sentiment echoed in a new advert, which has been narrated by Julia Roberts, who has voiced her support for Kamala Harris and her vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. It shows a woman whose husband appears to be a Trump supporter entering the voting booth to cast her ballot for Harris. ‘In the one place in America where women still have a right to choose, you can vote any way you want and no one will ever know,’ Roberts says in the voiceover. Since the advert, which is called Your Vote, Your Choice aired just six days ago, it has been viewed more than 600,000 times at the time of writing this article. It has seemingly infuriated Trump, who phoned into Fox & Friends on November 2 to say that he was ‘disappointed’ in Roberts for participating in the ad.
‘I’m so disappointed at Julia Roberts. She’s going to look back on that and she’s going to cringe. “Did I really say that?”‘ Trump said. ‘It doesn’t say much for her relationship, but I’m sure she has a great relationship. The wives and the husbands, I don’t think that’s the way they deal.’
The reason for the gender war in voting is clear. A late October national poll from USA Today/Suffolk University found that women resoundingly back Harris over Trump, 53% to 36%, which is a ‘mirror image’ of men’s support for Trump over Harris, 53% to 37%. A September poll from Quinnipiac University similarly found a 26-point gender gap. In the period since Trump was elected the US president in 2016, young women have become significantly more liberal — particularly on issues pertaining to the environment and abortion — than young men, according to the Gallup polling group. In the same time frame, the share of young men who say the US has gone ‘too far’ promoting gender equality has more than doubled, according to the American Enterprise Institute. So how are women looking to balance this discrepancy? By voting secretly to counter their partner’s vote. According to recent data, one in 8 women say they’ve secretly voted differently than their partners.
‘I’ve dated Trump supporters, and I’ve been friends with them too, but I just think there’s ultimately an expiration date in those relationships,’ Grace Weinstein, who has been volunteering for the Kamala Harris campaign in her home in New York City, tells ELLE UK. ‘When you think about why you date somebody, it’s quite hard to picture a future with a person whose views are diametrically opposed to your own, especially in a country that’s become as divided as America has.’
Friedman’s boyfriend justifies his vote for Trump’s ticket with the reasoning that he feels the world will be safer under the former president’s leadership than Harris’. He sees Harris as inexperienced. While she sees his labelling as sexist, Friedman has learned that it’s safer for their relationship to not discuss politics at all. ‘Each to their own,’ she says, shrugging. ‘That’s his opinion, and this is mine, but it doesn’t need to be a big deal.’
Millions of Americans appear to disagree, with female voters believing their reproductive freedoms to be on the line, yet again, in this election. Regardless of who comes out on top in the election, there will be winners and losers this week across America, both in the political and relationships sphere. A splintering will be seen across party lines – whether the fissures will be reparable remains to be seen.
*names have been changed.
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Read the original article in ELLE UK.
