Democrat voter and self-proclaimed liberal Tim Durnin has spoken to GBN America about how his mother’s support for Donald Trump created a deep rift within his family.
The writer told Mark Dolan it took an apology from his mother seven years after she first made her support for the Republican clear – but the wounds are still yet to fully heal.
Durnin said on GBN America that Trump’s values contradict the values he was brought up with, which made it difficult for him to accept his mother’s decision.
“He counters our values as a country. He is contrary to the values I hold dear and the ones I was brought up to hold dear”, he said.
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“Unfortunately, that has not improved at all.”
Speaking about the tensions within the family, he said: “It was most prominent with my mother and I. I tend to be very political and outspoken while my siblings tend to be peacemakers.
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“Our phone conversations saw things escalate. My father passed away 20 years ago and both of her partners were very liberal, so we got along.
“She was sort of pressed between two Democrats and she wasn’t going to do it.”
Durnin even admitted that he opted to stop talking about politics wherever he possibly could.
“The conversations became pointless and frustrating. It was probably easier to give them up than have any sort of reasonable discourse”, he said.
Tim Durnin joined Mark Dolan on GBN America
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It took the Capitol Hill insurrection in January 2021 for his mother to change her ways – an event which led to a bombshell apology at the family dinner table.
“It was the precipitating event. I was on the phone with her and I was self-righteous saying, ‘I told you so’”, he said.
“We were saddened. To her credit, at that moment she knew there was no question something was wrong.”
He added: “For my daughters, there are some scars. It’s hard when you’re 18-20 to see what it is to be 80 and have some long held opinions and be asked to give them up.
“They still have a good relationship and they talk – they try to stay away from politics where they can.”
But Durnin acknowledged Trump’s election success in November could prompt yet another rocky period for his family.
Trump won the 2024 US presidential election earlier this month securing his return to the White House as America’s 47th president.
The former president defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in what turned out to be a comfortable victory, winning both key swing states and the popular vote.
Speaking at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump declared a “magnificent victory for the American people” and promised to “help our country heal”.
Joined by JD Vance, who called it the “greatest political comeback in American history”, Trump outlined his vision for what he termed would be a “golden age” for America.