First, a couple of quotes that get to the heart of this discussion:

“The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” – Garry Kasparov

“Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could do only a little.” – Edmund Burke

It’s time to reach out to the Trump supporters in our lives. It’s time to reclaim our relationships, push back against propaganda, and help steer people we care about back to democratic values.

In these times of deep political division, it’s tempting to withdraw from these difficult conversations—especially with those whose views feel misguided or harmful. But if we want to pull our country back from the brink, silence isn’t an option. Political conversations can no longer be taboo; they are required.

Most of us know how difficult this can be. Many have tried, only to encounter defensiveness, denial, or avoidance. It’s frustrating, and for many, deeply heartbreaking. But walking away entirely means surrendering the people we care about to those who thrive on division, confusion, and misplaced loyalty.

Yes, Trump supporters deserve an earful, but we deserve our democracy more. We shouldn’t make these conversations about winning arguments. They should be about rebuilding trust and helping those we care about find their way out of a carefully constructed illusion. This is both caring and strategic.

To help put you at ease, let’s clarify upfront what we mean by “talk” and “conversation”. This doesn’t have to be about rescuing them single-handedly. We’re not aiming for an “OMG, you’re right, how did I not see that?” moment (though it can happen). These conversations are more about reconnecting and planting the seeds that will help them find their own way back to reality.

While we’re at it, let’s clarify what we mean by “Trump supporter.” We use this as a broad term for anyone who voted for Trump, whether they’re hardcore MAGA supporters, misinformed voters, or simply casual ones. These conversations also apply to those who didn’t vote at all, because if they didn’t vote, they weren’t paying attention, and they need to start.

It may be too much for a Trump supporter or Republican to vote Democratic, but that’s okay - we only need them to walk away from Trump and find truth. Sitting out the next election or two, or joining the Independent Party is good enough.

Before the election, Trump supporters were trapped in an information bubble, and we let them rot there. That was a fatal mistake. We can’t do that again. Our refusal to engage Trump supporters only strengthens the grip of those who’ve captured them. Now, let’s get at it…

Why these conversations are critical now

In a nutshell, we should be in all panic right now.

• Our vote is under attack from all sides. It will be tough to withstand new state voting laws, national disenfranchisement through the SAVE Act, a too-often complicit SCOTUS, etc. Add to that the technical abilities that Elon Musk and Peter Thiel bring to the table. Then there’s this nasty little secret. All of this adds up to us needing a turnout that is too big to rig by increasing Democratic voters or helping Trump supporters sit out the next two elections.

• The propaganda is keeping up with Trump's atrocities. From tearing down the East Wing to undermining health and scientific research, from the Epstein files to the war with Iran, Fox News and right-wing media have consistently had his back. This reveals just how far these voices will go, and why they must be stopped. We don’t just want people to reject Trump; we also want them to learn to distrust and distance themselves from those who’ve lied to and exploited them.

• Trump has handed the reins of democracy to billionaires, corporatists, oligarchs, and theocrats. After decades of weakening our government, they are making their final assault on Democracy, and they are doing it in broad daylight. This is their best chance. This is our last stand.

• We and the rest of the world are at the mercy of a narcissistic sociopath in cognitive decline. We are all trapped in a room with a toddler holding a loaded handgun. He is undermining our democratic principles, causing our government to enrich the rich and abandon the rest. The Republicans will do nothing to stop him. Humanity is looking to us to save them.

• Practically speaking, the only way to save our democracy is to broaden anti-Trump sentiment—enough to pressure his handlers and Congress to rein him in. This only happens when he loses enough support.

We need to capture this moment. It calls us to a new responsibility. If we don’t engage with one another, we’ll only be helping those who seek to control and exploit us, making our democracy even more fragile.

Saving America now depends largely on a grassroots effort of conversations with the Trump supporters we care about. They are our friends and family, and only we can reach them.

Now more than ever, these conversations matter. We may be among the last who can still reach Trump supporters.

Why these conversations will be easier than before the election

For the most part, we neglected to have these crucial conversations before the 2024 election. Some of us, caught in our own information bubble, were certain Harris would win and felt little urgency to engage. Others held on to hard lessons learned from talking with Trump supporters in 2016 and 2020. We were left shocked, confused, and angry at the choices and behavior of people we thought we knew. In response, we pulled away… and so did they.

Things are different now, and in many cases, the reality of all of us living in a very different America will make these conversations easier.

• Many are already feeling betrayed by broken promises and experiencing the pain caused by Smith and the Project 2025 agenda.

• Others are shaken by the chaos, the cruelty, and the insanity.

• Some are fearful of global instability, dangerous alliances, war, and threats of genocide.

• Some are beginning to recognize how they’ve been misled by propaganda and disinformation.

• And some are starting to understand that yes, it can happen here.

In other words, showing is more effective than warning. Saying “Look at what’s happening” is more convincing than “This is what might happen.”

We can use this. Don’t wait for their buyer’s remorse; get in front of it. Let them know they are welcome back, with no questions asked. This is important: knowing up front that they have somewhere else to go will make it much easier for them to leave Trump, and their information bubble, behind.

The fact that a common enemy is coming into focus can help these conversations. America isn’t a divided nation—we are a nation that was intentionally divided. That’s a crucial distinction, and it means this can be fixed. We’re not each other’s enemies. We never were— we were persuaded to believe we were. Our anger, our energy, and our fight must be directed at the true source of this crisis: the oligarchs, corporatists, and propagandists who are tearing us apart so they can hijack our democracy.

We were never meant to stand alone. We are wired for connection, built to depend on one another. It’s in our nature to care, to grow, and to stand together. The sooner we remind each other of that, the sooner our nation will heal.

Why our friends and family voted for Trump

Understanding how many were attracted to Trump is important if we expect to guide them away from him. This is a complex and nuanced topic, one explored in countless books, articles, and videos (including this great explanation). We’ll keep it brief…

We live in a world awash in manipulative and harmful rhetoric. It comes at us from all directions, all day, every day. At its core is an unrelenting drive for power by a select few. Several key dynamics shape this landscape:

• Oligarchs are rising to power, extending their reach into government, dominating media, and pursuing an obsessive drive to control society.

• Traditional news sources are being abandoned in favor of social media, entertainment-driven reporting, and shallow headlines that obscure deeper understanding.

• Propaganda and disinformation technologies are advancing faster than our minds’ natural defenses, and our institutions can adapt.

• Our brains’ inherent malleability (neuroplasticity) is being exploited to subtly reshape how we interpret the world around us and how we react to it.

Persistent, widespread disinformation, amplified by fearmongering and scapegoating, has been deliberately weaponized by those intent on reshaping our society. Manufactured threats like “coastal elites,” “white replacement theory,” “wokeness,” “the deep state,” and “the attack on manhood” are deliberately deployed by those intent on re-engineering our society.

These tactics, combined with conservative policies that concentrate wealth and disempower the public, foster a sense of lost control and diminished self-worth. That loss breeds insecurity and anxiety, which in turn rewire our brains—eroding reason, amplifying threat sensitivity, and deepening distrust. Low self-esteem makes us resentful of “others” while drawing us toward fellow sufferers and charismatic figures promising quick fixes. The result: a vulnerable population, primed for exploitation.

Intelligence doesn’t guarantee a defense against propaganda; when low self-esteem and anxiety take hold, they often overpower our capacity for rational thought. It’s also important to realize that most of this goes on deep in our unconscious mind, leaving us unaware and unable to break free.

Regardless of circumstances, anyone who spent too much time in the echo chamber was bound to be pulled under. It didn’t just manufacture victimhood, resentment, and tribalism; it also shaped our consent for the destruction of democracy.

Other dynamics that may have helped sway our friends and family include:

• Young Trump supporters were in their mid-teens when he left office, too young to remember his failures. Democratic messaging didn’t fill the gap, but social media influencers amplified his bravado.

• Decades of conservative fiscal policies, such as trickle-down economics, have left many behind, fueling legitimate feelings of low self-esteem and anxiety.

• Many still clung to the stubborn belief that Republicans are the party of “law and order” and “fiscal responsibility.

• The steady framing of Democrats as socialists, unpatriotic, and undermining traditional values.

• Over fifty years, Conservative rhetoric has increasingly framed our government as the enemy.

• A growing awareness that human progress was pushed aside for the economic progress of the few has created a sense of disillusionment and a longing for the past or ‘anything different’.

• The belief that “it will never happen here” insulated our minds from the urgency of the moment

• Long-running whitewashing and bothsidesism in mainstream media blurred the lines between the parties and their candidates, dulling the public’s sense of danger.

Beneath all of this is a simple truth: those who were stuck in the wrong bubble rarely heard criticism of Trump. Instead, they were flooded with negativity about Biden, Harris, Democrats, and the government itself. We are what our minds eat, and many of us were force-fed a distorted view of the world, and we voted accordingly.

The good news is that neuroplasticity works both ways, and what was done can also be undone. Rather than seeing those caught in echo chambers as lost causes, we might view them as individuals influenced by forces beyond their control—forces we can help them resist and overcome.

So now what?

Hopefully, you’ve made it this far because you see the urgency and possibilities of having conversations with Trump supporters. If you’re still unsure, look at our guidance pages to determine whether these conversations are for you. If you’re fired up and think you’re ready to go, you’re still advised to look at our guidance (or other sources) because there are simple ways to make these conversations smoother and more effective - and there are many more ways to make them go wrong…

Two final friendly reminders as you consider having these conversations:

1. Our unwillingness to engage with Trump supporters only strengthens the influence of those who’ve captured them.

2. As long as we’re fighting each other, we’re not fighting those who broke the system.

Talking heads are destroying Democracy – talking friends can save it. Start your conversation here.