C-SPAN’s Washington Journal (12/25/2025) examines Trump’s $1.776B tax-free soldier bonus amid generational political engagement gaps—Gallup finds only 6 in 10 young adults prioritize voting over 9 in 10 seniors. Callers reveal partisan divides: Republicans cite election fears and Florida policies like the Middleman Elimination Act, while Democrats blame GOP racism and Trump’s Supreme Court influence, with Independents often rejecting both sides. Kimberly Adams closes by linking C-SPAN’s coverage to America’s enduring debate over power, liberty, and polarization’s toll on democracy. [Automatically generated summary]
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Next on Washington Journal, we'll continue our Holiday Authors Week series, featuring live conversations with a new author each day.
Coming up, after your calls and comments, we'll talk with National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen discussing his book, The Pursuit of Liberty, how Hamilton v. Jefferson ignited the lasting battle over power in America.
With many folks visiting friends and family this time of year, some may be tested when it comes to how they talk about the political events of the past year and their own response to them.
But in this era of political polarization, some have found new energy to get more involved in civic life.
And that's our topic for this holiday morning.
Have you become more politically engaged this year?
Called a member of Congress for the first time, went to a town hall, attended a protest, or maybe just changed the way you talk to others who think differently than you about politics.
Our phone lines for Republicans, 202-748-8001.
For Democrats, 202-748-8000.
And for Independents, 202-748-8002.
If you'd like to text us, that number is 202-748-8003.
We're also on social media at facebook.com slash C-SPAN and on X at C-SPANWJ.
Now, despite the political polarization in this country, Americans actually do agree on quite a bit.
There's some polling about that from Gallup saying Americans show consensus on many democracy-related matters.
Eight in 10 endorse compromise.
83% reject political violence.
84% say that the U.S. benefits from having a mix of cultures.
There is a public split, however, on whether cultural change is happening too fast.
A bit more on that from Gallup.
Eight in 10 U.S. adults agree on a variety of issues that reflect core aspects of U.S. democracy.
These include that using violence to achieve political goals is never okay, that elected leaders should compromise to get things done, and that having a mix of races, religions, and cultures benefits the nation.
Americans also express a desire to limit the political influence of wealthy individuals and businesses and believe there is a difference between fact and opinion.
Now, in terms of political engagement, there is a difference across generations here in the United States when it comes to activism in civic life, as well as just paying attention to what's happening in politics.
There's polling from AP Nork on that issue in particular, which found that younger adults are less engaged with U.S. politics.
While 9 in 10 older adults say voting is very important, only 6 in 10 young adults agree.
Younger adults are half as likely than older adults to follow U.S. politics closely.
Let's dig into that data a little bit more.
In general, younger adults are less interested and engaged in U.S. politics than older individuals.
Although two-thirds of adults aged 18 to 29 feel it is important for people to vote, they are less likely than adults over 45 to see the value.
Younger adults are also less inclined to pay much attention to news about American politics.
That generational gap is apparent not only in how closely different age groups follow politics in general, but also how much they care about various issues, including government spending and immigration.
Those ages 18 to 29 are less likely than adults 45 and older to feel voting is very or extremely important.
People ages 45 and older are especially likely to say that voting is extremely important compared to those under 45.
Now, on the issue of political polarization in particular, last month at Columbia University Institute of Global Politics event, former Secretaries of State Mike Pompeo and Hillary Clinton spoke about their concerns about the political polarization in this country.
We need more dialogue, even like what we're doing here today.
It's hard for us to have the kind of honest, forthright agreements and disagreements that we need to have.
You know, there are good arguments for and against doing a lot of the things that are on the agenda for whether we are going to remain strong and prosperous and united and all the rest of it.
But we're not having that.
Some of it because of intimidation from this administration for their own party.
Some of it because of social media and the like.
So, you know, I think polarization is certainly real, but it's not inevitable.
But that requires every one of us to assert our own agency against being told what to believe, being told what we're supposed to do, or being influenced by voices on social media that you're not often even sure what's behind their position.
So I think we have some serious challenges as to how we get back to the kind of give and take and organize as well as just, you know, citizen discussion that we need in a democracy.
This concept of how we should disagree on issues related to politics came up as well from a recent event at Vanderbilt University where presidential historian and author John Meacham was speaking about the importance of civil disagreement in society.
A sense of neighborliness is the oxygen of democracy.
If we're not willing to see each other as having equal dignity and equality before the law, and if you're so inclined before God, then it doesn't work.
If you can be lesser than because of some characteristic that I either discern or assign to you, then we're in a thunderdome.
We're not in an arena where politics is the resolution of problems for a given period of time.
We're in a zone where politics becomes total war.
And when politics is total war, there can be no democracy.
There can only be autocracies of the season.
Autocracies are seasonal.
They come and they go because there is also a fundamental human.
If you value strength as your central principle, then people are going to seek to be strong and remove you and make you weak.
The whole point of the United States was to limit that peril.
And we're as close at this hour as we've ever been to descending into the strong versus the weak.
You mentioned social media and the impact of that on civic engagement.
There's some research from Pew that 42% of social media users say that those sites are important for them getting involved with political and social issues.
Half of U.S. adult social media users say social media is very or somewhat important for them when it comes to finding others who share their views about important issues, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February.
So this is from earlier this year.
Smaller shares say social media is important for getting involved with political or social issues that are important to them, 42%, or giving them a venue to express their political opinions, 34%.
Melvin is in Richmond, Virginia, on our line for Democrats.
Melvin, have you become more politically engaged this year?
unidentified
Good morning, Kimberly.
Thank you for taking my call.
And Kimberly, may you have a wonderful holiday.
Kimberly, my political engagement hasn't changed.
It's at a level where I always am looking to support people who will treat me like a human being, okay?
If you come at me from a standpoint that based on race or whatever, whatever your little problem is as far as what you don't like about people, then of course I'm going to have to defend myself.
And that is the case where, in my humble opinion, where Democrats are.
We're not, I'm not upset about these Republican, you know, only the time I get upset is when they become, when they act out their racism.
And because Republicans really is a racist party.
We have to admit that.
You know, it wasn't a Republican Party who was for the Voting Rights Act.
It wasn't a Republican Party who was for women's rights.
It wasn't a Republican Party who was for gay rights.
The Republicans have always opposed anything that should be considered that is helpful to America just to keep everybody out of the way.
Let's hear from Gordon in Plant City, Florida on our line for Republicans.
Good morning, Gordon.
unidentified
Hey, thank you for taking my call, Kimberly.
Everyone will remember me.
I'm the conservative Republican in Plant City named Gordon Wayne Watts that nearly won the Terry Shabbat case.
And the 4-3 loss in the Terry Shabbo case did better than Governor Bush's case.
And actually, anyone who just believes this can Google Terry Shabbo and Gordon Wayne Watts.
About my political involvement.
Earlier this morning, I called my friend George Norrie at Coast to Coast A.M. and I said, Look, everyone here at Coast knows I'm a conservative Republican, but I'm a Christian first, and I want to have a message for Jake and Jeffries.
Even though I want to cut spending, the request for reasonable priced health care and reasonable priced education are reasonable.
And I found a solution.
It's a Christmas miracle.
When I called him a couple of months ago, there was the Middleman Elimination Act by Gordon in Florida.
You didn't even need Gordon Wayne Watts.
But the Google graph shows that the Middleman Elimination Act by Gordon in Florida is really high.
And here's what I have to say about that.
There's a solution that I found.
Polk County, Florida is where Sheriff Grady Judd is, and it's one of the most conservative places in the world.
Gordon, I'm hoping that I understand that you're talking about the issue specific to Florida, but I wonder what motivates your political engagement overall.
unidentified
Well, what motivates my political engagement is that President Trump made promises to cut spending, to abolish the Department of Ed, to eliminate the health insurance middleman.
And although I think he's tried, he has given up.
And I want to reach out and help him and the Democrats work together because the Polk County, Florida's free health care for their low-income citizens costs the taxpayers less.
And if I'm a Republican, I don't care if it's free.
I'm not no liberal just because I'm trying to do something free.
If it costs the taxpayers less, it'll help the Democrats costing less because there's no middleman.
There's like it costs far less than the ACA, no offense meant to president Obama, but what he eventually got wasn't working.
And if it works for both sides, I'm a Christian first, and I'm politically involved as a conservative Republican, but I'm a Christian.
And I see that eliminating the middleman for health insurance and for student loans directly funds the health care and the college.
If Polk County, Florida has free health care and it costs the taxpayers less, but it costs the patients less, why can't we all work together and have something where I want everyone to go to GordonWatts.com and Gordon Wayne?
So what inspired you to get involved in particular this year in a political campaign?
unidentified
Well, because this all, this Trump era, it all goes back to when Nixon was running for president and Martin Luther King was in jail with his head busted and Nixon wouldn't even make a phone call to get him out of jail, but Kennedy did.
And that's when my family stopped voting Republican.
And I mean, I'm sure there was always good people in the Republican Party because they told Nixon that he was going to get impeached if he didn't resign.
So he did.
But now it's like they won't do anything.
They give up any power they have politically.
And I'm just sick of politicians on both sides of the aisle begging for money because money isn't the answer to our problems.
We've had trouble with immigration and people hating on each other since way before I was born.
Sarah is in Savannah, Georgia on our line for Republicans.
Good morning, Sarah.
unidentified
Good morning.
Merry Christmas, everybody.
I just have a quick few points I would like to make.
First of all, I'm 40 years old, and I have been a part of an organization called Ladies on the Right that we formed in Savannah, Georgia several years ago.
So I've been a part of it for a while now.
And we, you know, we talk about all of these points.
We talk about political engagement, you know, protesting, things like that.
So here's my thoughts on it for protesting.
It's a waste of time.
It gets people all riled up and everybody wants to scream and yell and, you know, get all crazy.
So I just think people need to calm down and focus on what you can do to make an effective change.
And then if you don't know anything about politics and if you're not going to politically engage and vote, then set your mouth.
Because if you don't know what you don't know, then don't talk about it.
And then my third point is if you want to find something out, there's many ways and resources to do that outside of the news station.
So you can, you know, request an open records request to find out things that you want to look at, whether it's money management through the government and or your local law enforcement and other nonprofit organizations.
But, you know, people will sit there and they're going to fight.
They're going to that's all they're going to do when they protest.
So Sarah, I was looking at the website for your group, ladies on the right, and I see that you organize luncheons and things like that.
I'm wondering, you mentioned that certain types of political engagement are more useful than others.
What have you found in your work with this group and others to be the most effective forms of political engagement?
unidentified
Yes, ma'am.
So we have like, we have a lot of people that come in for our luncheons, our monthly luncheons, and they will come from all around.
It's not just political folks.
It's all kinds of different organizations who are advocating for certain things that are going on in our day-to-day lives.
And so we've got great speakers and sponsors that will come in and discuss things and have an open forum to really understand what's going on.
How can we effectively make a change and or promote a certain aspect of whatever the topic is for that particular luncheon?
But I have found those luncheons to be extremely useful because it's, you know, some of them you go, oh, well, it's not necessarily my kind of thing, but that's why you go because you get to go and you get to learn, you get to find out, you get to find out new resources, and then you take and do with those as you please.
Sarah mentioned the questions about the efficacy of certain protests and things like that.
This was written about back in April in Brookings, The Power of Protest in the U.S.
And among other things, it says to succeed in the long term, protest activities must have clear strategic objectives, broaden their coalitions, and develop concrete electoral and political mobilization efforts.
Successful movements of past decades often took months or even years to organize and achieve policy victories.
Protest is not an endeavor that delivers immediate results.
It requires considerable time, along with patience, perseverance, and courage from all involved.
Some protesters believe that tweeting discontent or posting videos on social media platforms constitutes political protest or electoral mobilization.
However, effective protests have demonstrated that long-term success involves many steps, from mass protests and political alliance building to candidate recruitment, fundraising, registration drives, and get out the vote efforts.
Back to your calls on whether you've become more politically engaged this year.
Al is in Washington, D.C. on our line for Democrats.
I have enjoyed the political process, even though I've been recuperating from illness.
I went to vote last fall for, I guess it was president.
And political involvement is something I find that most Americans have been shouting from the rooftops on one corner or another.
And I don't think most Americans really get that there needs to be political engagement on both sides.
I have a a brother that lives out west.
I have friends that are in both parties, but mostly from the Democratic tradition.
I think there was a guy on earlier that was talking about black folks, and then he went on about Nixon.
I remember Nixon, and I remember Watergate, but I also remember Truman and the National Security Act and Eisenhower and what he did and Kennedy, and unfortunately his assassination.
I think Americans need to be more involved at the local level.
And I think that political participation in the U.S. is a given and it's a mandatory for citizenship.
I don't think we need to play any more games with the two-party system.
We need to be involved in both.
I remember in 75 when we made a thousand dollar max for political participation right after the Nixon resignation.
And now we have a whole bunch.
Now they have political action committees that took all the limits off.
So I think we ought to be more involved human beings.
Al was mentioning how he has friends from across the political spectrum.
And there's a story actually about this in the Washington Examiner that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have close friends in the other party.
This is from a poll.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a close friend on the other side of the political aisle.
A poll that was recently released shows.
The poll found that 82% of Republicans have at least one close friend on the left compared to 64% of Democratic respondents.
While the majority of voters on both sides have friends across the aisle, the bulk of respondents who claim they do not have close cross-party friendships are particularly younger voters.
The poll also found that respondents who identified themselves as moderates were also expected to have a close friend in a different political party.
For instance, self-identified moderate Republicans were 8% more likely to have a close friend in the Democratic Party than conservative Republicans.
In parallel, the poll found that moderate Democrats were 21% more likely to have a close Republican friend than liberal Democrats.
Let's get back to your calls on whether you've become more politically engaged in 2025.
I would like to wish the country a happy new year.
Haphazardly speaking, my political engagement improved or advanced when George Bush made an attempt to run for office in 1999,
and he haphazardly displayed his, how can I say it, de facto bureaucracy, And actually won his seat by the corruption held in the state of Georgia, which is led by a whole vastness of local municipal corruption.
And one of those corruptions is just Georgia within itself.
And so with my advancement, I saw that repeated itself.
I saw that it was repeating itself with Joseph Biden.
And I said, a vote for Trump is a vote for America.
And with that, I was hoping, I was praying, I said, God forsake it.
Joseph Biden got these people blinded.
Political corruption can turn into tyranny.
It can turn into a suppression of the economic stimulus.
economic development is the root of progression someone would say well in terms of political engagement i mean i i hear that you voted for trump but you mentioned sort of economic progress Some people have been using boycotts as a way to be more politically engaged in 2025.
Is that something that you've done?
unidentified
I will stun, in a sense, boycott.
Boycott is a median in which Joseph Biden would love to use in an effort to hold up the economy.
In order to progress, in order to make not a protest against, let me ask this.
Most people, or let me mention this, most people are protesting in an adverse condition.
It's as if to say, if a person is sick, why go jump into like an Alaska lake filled with ice?
With Joe Biden as a president, people say, yes, bro, Joe Biden.
However, we fell into brokenness, poverty.
Joe Biden stricken the Bronx as it is, concurrently speaking.
Let's hear from Alan in Ithaca, New York on our line for independence.
Good morning, Alan.
unidentified
Hi.
Ceasels, greetings to you and the listeners.
I've been politically active since I got back from Vietnam and have joined, am a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and also have recently joined Veterans for Peace.
And I'm not sure of one thing except that the class that determines the direction of the economy also determines foreign policy.
And that class has, and the priorities of that class have been similar since the Vietnam War.
And I look at the Ukraine war that's going on now.
And to me, the only explanation for that is what has been called the deep state or this consistent anti-Soviet Union and now anti-Russia foreign policy of the deep state.
And it's something that I think a lot of people are waking up to.
And I've recently become involved or worked with and gone out for the No Kings march.
And I think people have got to sort of look at the foreign policy that has been consistent since the end of World War II and realize that has to change.
And I like to be optimistic and say most Americans have common sense and are looking, are feeling what is happening now and taking a look at the politics behind it.
So, Alan, you've mentioned that you've been engaged in politics since Vietnam.
You came back from Vietnam, but you've recently sort of joined these new groups as well as attended protests.
Have you seen others around you doing more political engagement than maybe you have in the past?
unidentified
Well, in my small town, there was a huge turnout for the No Kings Day.
And I mean, and when you look at the protest across the country, I don't think that it was nonviolent, but I don't think the media really looked at why so many people turned out.
And yes, people that I know, yeah, are all across the board.
People are upset, but they don't have a vehicle or a way to articulate and focus their anger and their frustration.
All right, let's hear from Randy in Millington, Michigan on our line for Democrats.
Good morning, Randy.
unidentified
Ho, ho, ho!
Merry Christmas to the country, and I hope everyone has a great new year coming.
I want to thank you for very much for working on Christmas and being out, being away from your family, you and all the other men and women that are there today working.
I appreciate the great job you're doing for the nation.
I've always been politically involved ever since I hired into General Motors and became a union member.
My daughter is really politically involved as a younger person.
What kind of political activities are you involved in?
unidentified
I was involved with any of the union, the rallies that we had for Carmela Harris, going to gatherings to discuss it with debates on political debates when they would have them with the different candidates.
I would go to them.
That's my involvement now.
Not quite as much on the sorry about that.
That was a cat.
Not quite as active as I used to be when I was working, but still want to stay involved and have discussion with debates with people in that kind of engagement.
And that is what I'm into now.
Not quite so much going to all the rallies like I used to, but I still go to the ones that I deem the most important where the most action can get to be taken care of or try to make the outcome the best for everyone.
That's how I look at my involvement when I do get involved.
I try and I try to.
I'm a moderate so I try to look at both sides and work with people.
That's how I do it.
But I really wanted to call and just thank you for working on Christmas and that's a great involvement of working on Christmas.
Yesterday, President Trump and the First Lady spoke words of encouragement and well wishes to U.S. Troops who are working this holiday stationed abroad on Christmas Eve.
Well, I'd like to wish a very big hello to all of our wonderful service members and a very, very Merry Christmas.
It's a great Christmas for this country.
We're doing better than ever financially.
We're setting records.
You saw 4.3 percent GDP yesterday.
That was a big one.
That was two points more than anyone expected, but we knew it.
On behalf of the First Lady and our entire country, let me thank each and every one of you for your extraordinary devotion and service to America.
I also want to salute your wonderful families and it's amazing how much they sacrifice.
You understand it better than anybody, but they sacrifice so much, and especially during these beautiful holidays.
I know it's not easy when duty separates you from your loved ones, but you have earned the gratitude of all Americans for keeping our country safe, strong and free, and tonight and tomorrow, countless millions of Americans have you in their prayers.
We are praying for all of you.
You have no idea how respected you are, how loved you are.
You don't see it because there's no way of you seeing it, but you are respected and loved more than anyone.
As your commander-in-chief, I also want to thank you for your incredible backup.
You've backed up everything I've wanted to do and you've made our country stronger and more prosperous than ever before.
But I have your back also because by now I hope most of you have received your special warrior dividend of 1776 right $1,776.
And you know, in case you're not aware of it, it's tax-free.
You don't have to pay tax.
In other words, you don't have to send half of it back to the government 15 minutes after you get it.
You don't have to send anything back.
So that's 1776, it's tax-free, and we've distributed just about all of it in time for christmas and you've earned it.
Nobody else is going to do that for you, that I can tell you.
We have a few christmas wishes as well from members of congress.
This one from representative August Piefler, who says, merry christmas eve, Texas 11.
What a joy it is to celebrate the humble birth of our savior.
As we expectantly await christmas day, I pray you'll join me in reflecting on the reason we can celebrate this week.
And then representative Adrian Smith says, christmas is a time to count our blessings.
I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in the United States, the strength of family and the promise of a new year.
From our family to yours, merry christmas and a happy new year.
And then Kwasa Mfume says, may this christmas bring peace and joy as we gather with friends, with family, friends and loved ones, wishing everyone a blessed and meaningful day and merry christmas.
Our question this morning again is, have you become more politically engaged in 2025?
Our phone lines again, for Republicans, 202748 8001, for Democrats, 2027 88000 and for independents, 2027 88002.
Let's hear from James in Florence, South Carolina on our line for independence.
Good morning, James.
Have you become more politically engaged in 2025?
unidentified
To the extent that I'm able to, I have.
First, I want to wish everybody a happy holidays because I don't know what their religious affiliations are, and I don't want to insult anybody.
Now, you had a caller several calls back that was saying how, you know, the Republican Party has always been racist and this and that.
That caller, I hear him every single day on C-SPAN.
So it would be great that, you know, when he calls to just remind him about the 30-day call policy.
And as far as him claiming that, you know, Republicans have always been racist, I'd like to remind him that Abraham Lincoln was Republican and that Martin Luther King Jr. was Republican.
Now, I've made some pretty bad decisions in my life, so I'm not able to vote, but I have spoken to several people about my religious, about my political leanings.
I used to be a Republican, but due to a lot of the decisions that Donald Trump has made, I've switched over to the Independent Party because I see both good and bad on both sides of the political spectrum.
James, since you've kind of gone through this yourself, can you talk about some of the ways that people like yourself can be politically engaged even when you're not voting?
unidentified
By speaking to people, I speak to my pastor at my church quite a bit.
I speak to the owners of the business that I work at, neighbors I've spoken to about, you know, my thoughts of how the political spectrum has been going and decisions that I would like to see be made.
How have you become more politically engaged in 2025?
unidentified
Well, two weeks ago, I stepped out on faith and I applied to run for the county commissioner in this county.
And, of course, I'm running on a Democratic ticket, and this is a solid Republican county.
75% voted for Donald J. Trump last year.
So a Democrat hadn't been elected in probably 10 or 20 years countywide.
But last time there was no Democrats on the ticket for county commissioner.
So I felt like I want to give people a choice.
You know, I think it'll be better if people have a choice.
So I've always been politically involved.
I've got an advanced degree in political science.
But last year I had some medical issues, so I hadn't wasn't very involved, but I'm better now and I'm stepping out on faith and I'm going to fight like crazy.
So, Michael, has that made you want to be more politically engaged in the last year?
unidentified
Yeah, when you're out there praying in the streets, and it's just not a nice place where even the American people that have lived there all their lives are not welcome in that town, even the mayor of the Senate.
You guys need to take a little survey for that town and bring it back to us and see what you have to say.
Well, I'm curious, Michael, since you seem to not like what's happening in your community, if you've gotten involved in the politics in your area at all.
Let's look at some messages that we received via text and social media on political engagement.
Jimbo in Bakersfield, California, an independent, says, now that everyone is entitled to their own facts, I have completely abandoned any attempt to be politically engaged with anyone with the exceptions of text messages to C-SPAN Washington Journal.
Attempting to deprogram individuals with a brain full of misinformation is a waste of time.
I have, in essence, abandoned all hope for our democracy.
Merry Christmas.
Lori says, as families across the Commonwealth come together to celebrate Christmas Eve, I'm thinking of everyone, this is a representative, thinking of everyone working to keep our communities safe, healthy, and warm, grateful for their service, especially during the holiday season.
Back to your calls for whether you've become more politically engaged in 2025.
Eric is in Dothan, Alabama, on our line for Republicans.
I have become even more politically awakened, I guess, for the fact that the president is making so many moves and he's making them quickly.
I think one of his goals is to be the fastest person, well, the most productive more quickly without true politics, just getting things done.
And that's really had me, this really got my attention, the fact that he is making moves against Venezuela, actually stopping or showing an attempt to try to stop the drugs from coming here to our country.
Some of his tariff moves, he's doing things that are at such a rate that I'm wondering how this is all going to turn out.
I don't want to see him get stopped.
And I would like to see more Americans actually come around to his way of thinking.
I mean, you know, there are people that are actually turned off by all this stuff that he's doing, and they are benefiting.
I don't understand that.
I see, too, that he has done things for the troops.
I don't think I've seen any other president do this for the troops.
And he just said, you know, this money is yours.
You don't give half of it back to the government.
I've never seen anything like this before.
I don't know if he's Reagan or if he's, I don't know.
So, Eric, can you talk a little bit about the type of political engagement that you do that you feel is most useful?
unidentified
The ones where he is engaging other Somalis won.
That right there, that right there is just mind-blowing.
And how he has rapidly went to these cities, these crime-ridden cities.
I like to see that, how he has been engaging in that politically, and how he has come against these Democrats who are actually trying to fight him and stop him from doing so.
We have another text that we received from Jim in Forsyth, Illinois, who, in answer to the question, have you become more politically engaged?
No, because my interest in national politics has been at a fever pitch since Trump entered office in 2016, and that has not waned.
I spend too much time following Trump.
I consider myself a John McCain Republican.
I am disgusted by Trump and MAGA.
Thanks for your show.
Now, our caller we just finished with was talking about the fact that very few people in his life discuss politics at this point.
And there was an op-ed in the New York Post by Jonathan Alpert that got to this exact idea, saying, the classic holiday blow-up isn't what's derailing families anymore.
It's the silence that creeps in before it.
People aren't fighting more.
They're filtering more.
They stay polite while bracing on the inside.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Families don't need to avoid politics.
In fact, avoidance often makes the fear worse.
What helps is restoring something simple, trust.
Relatives need to believe they can disagree without being reduced to character.
They need room to be imperfect.
They need to assume complexity in one another, assume complexity in one another, rather than moral clarity from one comment.
If politics comes up, the most effective move is to stay grounded, redirect to shared values or personal experience, and remind yourself the bond matters more than the debate.
Don't take the bait.
If all else fails, there's always please pass the stuffing.
That was in the New York Post.
Philip is in Springfield, Massachusetts on our line for Democrats.
Good morning, Philip.
unidentified
Hi, good morning.
I wanted to say I've been called the Richard Neal's office and gave my opinions about the health care debacle they have on the increases and about the I watch your C-SPAN every day and call in every 30 days.
And so I feel I'm getting more involved.
And I give the Democrat Party donations through the mail.
And I've done surveys on political issues and vote every primary and every election.
And I just wanted to comment on the president.
Maybe Trump could give each American a $2,000 stimulus check if since he's helped the military with check that maybe the American citizens could get that because there's a lot of hurting people.
And I feel like this year I've been more involved in politics than ever because this is the first year I've called into Washington Journal and gave my opinions on certain issues.
And I just want to say thank you and have a Merry Christmas and God bless.
We have a comment from Steve in Tampa, Florida, who texted, as an 80-year-old Republican retiree with a degree in political science, I have the time to contact many congressmen, senators, and even the White House about ideas I think would be beneficial to the country.
Unfortunately, my friends on the other side of the political spectrum hesitate to talk about politics.
David is in Arcade New York on our line for Republicans.
Good morning, David.
Retiree.
David, can you make sure to turn down the volume on your TV and then go ahead with your comment?
Senator Stephen, the White House, got ideas.
All right, in the meantime, let's hear from Dee in Massachusetts on our line for Democrats.
Good morning, Dean.
unidentified
Yeah, good morning.
Yeah, I just want to make a couple of comments about how this country is being run.
I tend to think in the midterm, they should be a complete wipeout of the Republican Party.
I mean, they didn't, I mean, they're not doing anything.
I mean, Trump is running the whole show.
You got a whole bunch of companies with 400 of them on the Republican side, and they can't do nothing without Trump running the show.
I mean, you got a Supreme Court that don't do nothing but to work for Donald Trump.
And we need to get, you know, when we get a new president, we need, like I said, we need to flip the Senate to like 60 senators in there to get rid of that Supreme Court by putting 15 new Supreme Court people in there.
Because, like I said, this country's turning into God, but making immigrants look like Rodents and whatnot, putting everybody in jail and whatnot, going to university.
Have you gotten more engaged in politics or changed the way that you interact with your elected officials?
unidentified
Well, I vote when it's time to vote.
I mean, I talk to people politics every day, you know.
But the thing is that, like I said, you got, let me tell you something, even the media is being run over by Donald Trump.
I mean, to me, when he started calling them what, let me tell you something.
That's what the problem with these women in this country.
You stand up there letter, the U.S. president call a woman pigs, and you all still vote for this fool in the White House and why that's why in Massachusetts, we call him a mashed potato boy.
Because the thing is, he ain't even strong as a woman and calling women pigs and all kinds of names and whatnot.
And it's a disgrace.
And these women that's out here in this country, right, they better wake up.
Rob in Fairfax, Virginia says via text, I have become more politically aware, compliments of C-SPAN.
I watch as many of the confirmations, hearings, and programs that I can.
Ceasefire is a wonderful new addition.
Yet I'm a fraud in very blue northern VA.
I put up a facade of political neutrality so that I do not upset the folks I interact with.
Well, Rob was mentioning ceasefire, and on a recent episode of the Ceasefire program, we had Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt and Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman talk about how they became friends.
People who have very different political views on a number of issues, but saw each other as people and got to know each other in that way as well.
unidentified
And so getting to know John and Giselle, getting to hear about their kids.
This is also another demographic that is not necessarily represented a great deal in Congress or particularly in the Senate, is people who are raising children in our home states.
And so that's something else that we bonded over.
Not just, we'd go to committee hearings.
We were both on the banking committee.
And I remember sitting in the ante-room, which is the room right outside of the committee hearing, and talking about the vote schedule.
And, you know, there's so much of being a parent where, you know, people, we obviously raised our hand to do this, but our kids did not.
And I think that has also been a bond too about how to balance making sure we're present for our children and doing everything we can for our constituency and also the perspective that it brings to a number of issues being parents.
unidentified
But all of that to say, it has been one of the best parts of being in the Senate is friendship with John and the work we've been able to do together.
Yeah, and Senator Fetterman, for you to have someone across the aisle who has stuck by you to the point where she visited you in the hospital and at a time when you struggled with depression, with adjusting to life in the Senate early on.
How important did this friendship become?
unidentified
Oh, it's very affirming.
And just like that.
And just immediately, it's just how, I mean, there wasn't media there.
And now we're only the first year, you know, now I'm not sure the direction the town is overall going, but you can't forget that we, you know, we need each other, you know, politically, and we have to find a way to get together.
And I represent a very, very purple state.
And I don't, I can't forget that my neighbor might have a different views on things and that thing.
On our question of whether folks have become more politically engaged in 2025, Sue in Whiting, New Jersey says, while I consider myself politically interested, I'm not an activist.
I definitely don't care for the I'm right and you're wrong attitude, which is so prevalent in politics.
I'm all for adult-like discussions and debate, but not name-calling.
It's a turnoff.
Gary is in Fort Pierce, Florida, on our line for Republicans.
There's all sorts of types of political engagements.
And thanks to everybody who called in this hour to share what they've been up to.
Coming up next, Washington Journal's annual Holiday Authors Week series will continue this morning.
We're in the midst of nine days of authors from across the political spectrum whose books shine a spotlight on some important aspect of American life.
This morning's featured author is National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen, who's going to join us to discuss his book, The Pursuit of Liberty, how Hamilton versus Jefferson ignited the lasting battle over power in America.
We'll be right back.
unidentified
All week, through the new year, the C-SPAN networks will present a series of marathons highlighting the most consequential moments, conversations, and coverage of 2025 across C-SPAN, C-SPAN 2, and C-SPAN 3.