(Note – a deeper dive is here)

There’s still time to talk to our Trump-supporting friends and family. Two facts keep the effort worthwhile.

First, an onslaught of recent news and events has exposed Trump as too unhinged and dangerous even for some of his supporters, creating an opening we should use.

• Trump’s continued lack of respect for the military and our veterans
• His own Cabinet, White House Staff, and Military are pointing out how dangerous he is
• Hurricanes Helene and Milton are reminders about climate change, Trump’s claim of the climate change “hoax”, and Trump’s exploitation of disasters
• Trump provided COVID test machines to Putin while Americans were dying.
• Trump’s continued cognitive decline
• The spreading awareness of Project 2025 hurting all Americans
• Tim Walz might give them an acceptable candidate to move to 

Second, many Trump supporters continue to live in an information bubble that keeps them unaware of the dangers of a Trump win. What they don’t know can save them… but only if you tell them about it. In the end, They may actually thank you.

That being said, the time window to talk to them before election day is closing fast and voting has already started, so it’s time to act.

Prioritize your chats with:

• Your closest friends and family
• Especially those in swing states
• Especially those who have vulnerable friends or family members (female, any minority, medical needs, special needs, relying on Social Security, etc.)

Don’t waste your time and patience with:

• Strangers
• Anyone on social media – they’re only there to pick a fight

The basics:

• This could take more than a single conversation (so get busy!).
• This is about one-on-one conversations – face-to-face or on the phone.
• Without saying it, folks will want to save face – let them.
• Try to minimize lecturing, judging, sarcasm, and condescending tones.
• This is less about fact-checking.
• This is more about the dangers of a Trump win – including to the person you’re talking with and his family – drive that home.

Folks may fall back to their go-to rationalizations. The main point is not to give up Democracy for these lies. The popular gripes are:

• The border and border crossings
• The Big Steal and The Big Lie
• The Biden crime family
• The threats of LGBTQ on society

Instead of going down the fact-checking rat hole, go for broader points, especially those that would impact them. Guide them to ask themselves if they really want to vote to:

• Harm their wife, daughter, mother, sister
• Give control of their life to billionaires, foreign actors, and sociopaths
• Continue tax breaks for billionaires and give up their Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
• Let corporations torch their children’s planet
• Hand our troops over to someone who disrespects them
• Terminate our democracy and democracy worldwide 
• Endanger their vulnerable (women, minorities, non-Christian, special needs, health issues, etc.) friends, family, and coworkers

A more general approach could be to contrast the two worlds we have to choose from.:

• A Trump win will give you a country run by billionaires, high-tech sociopaths, women-haters, religious extremists, and Putin. These folks are not in this for you and will take all they can, control all they want, and they will never ever go away. 
• A Trump win will destroy democracy and everything that comes with it, and your voting days will be over
• A Harris win means you get none of the above and you can always vote for a Republican four short years from now

(Again, a deeper dive is here, if interested.)