With the holiday season approaching, a prominent mental health expert told MSNBC viewers that they should feel justified in cutting ties with relatives that voted for President-elect Donald Trump.
Yale University chief psychiatry resident Dr. Amanda Calhoun spoke to MSNBC host Joy Reid on Friday night about ways liberals who are devastated with Trump’s re-election this week can cope with news, including separating from certain loved ones.
“So, if you are going into a situation where you have family members, where you have close friends who you know have voted in ways that are against you… it’s completely fine to not be around those people and to tell them why,” Calhoun told Reid.
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The host prompted the expert’s answer by discussing how the LGBTQ community and other minority groups have been feeling particularly vulnerable following Trump’s election on early Wednesday morning.
Citing a recent report from progressive outlet, The 19th, Reid said, “Yeah, and we know that there’s been a vast increase since the election – 700 percent increase in calls from LGBTQ youth to The Trevor Project, which offers phone, online chat, or text to people – 700 percent increase in calls, texts, and chats compared to recent weeks.”
The host then asked how these people should be interacting with those they know – including family – that voted for Trump, who she accused of being against Americans’ rights.
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“But I wonder if also, are people challenged with the idea of, how do you interact with people who voted for this?”
She added, “If you are an LGBTQ person and you know someone in your family voted essentially against your rights, or you’re a woman knowing, you know, that this man was calling people the b word. JD Vance was literally calling Kamala Harris ‘the trash.’ He said, ‘We’re going to take out the trash.’ I know a lot of Black women were incredibly triggered by that.”
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Calhoun affirmed it’s fine for those aggrieved by Trump’s win to avoid Trump supporting family and friends, adding that they should tell them why.
“You know, to say, ‘I have a problem with the way that you voted because it went against my very livelihood, and I’m not going to be around you this holiday. I need to take some space for me.’”
Calhoun continued, noting that it is important, and even “essential” for people to establish boundaries with family members for their own sanity.
“I think you should very much be entitled to do so, and I think it may be essential for your mental health.”
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