Who wants to talk about politics at Thanksgiving? Here’s what a new poll found

Pass the gravy, drop the politics.

That seems to be the motto for most Americans at Thanksgiving this year, according to new polling.

In the latest CBS News poll, 71% of respondents said they will attempt to avoid discussing politics during the holiday — which comes just weeks after President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory. A much smaller share of respondents, 29%, said they will try to talk politics while tucking into their turkey.

Conducted between Nov. 19 and 22, the poll sampled 2,232 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.

The poll also found there was bipartisan agreement to squash talk of elections and government.

Seventy-two percent of respondents who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris said they will try to avoid political discussions, while 62% of respondents who voted for Trump said the same.

Meanwhile, 38% of Trump voters and 28% of Harris voters said they will try to talk about politics.

Whether or not the hot potato of politics is brought up at Thanksgiving will also depend on who is present, according to the poll.

Forty-three percent of respondents said that if the people at their holiday gathering voted the same as them, they will talk politics. But, a smaller share, 31%, said they would talk politics if the people at their gathering voted differently from them.

Additionally, many respondents signaled that they will be spending the holiday with like-minded people.

Nearly half of Harris voters, 46%, said they will largely be visiting people “who mostly voted Harris.” A slightly smaller share of Trump voters, 42%, said they would primarily be spending time with people “who mostly voted Trump.”

On the other hand, 31% of Trump voters and 24% of Harris voters said they would visit people who voted for both candidates.

Lastly, the poll asked respondents what they were particularly grateful for this year.

Seventy-nine percent said family and friends; 71% said health; 58% said freedom; 49% said faith, and 49% said peace. Just 16% said they were grateful for politics.

Steering clear of politics at Thanksgiving is not exactly a new tradition, either. A November 2020 poll from Morning Consult found just 16% of Trump supporters and 18% of President Joe Biden supporters planned to bring up politics during the holiday.

This story was originally published November 27, 2024 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Who wants to talk about politics at Thanksgiving? Here’s what a new poll found."