The verdict: Pretty peaceful. Just 16% of Americans who had a Thanksgiving dinner say politics came up at all this year. Only 3% say things devolved into an actual argument ― a number so trifling that the sample size for a few follow-up questions about the nature of the fights was actually too small to report on.
One reason for the lack of partisan sniping may have to do with self-selection: most people tend to have social circles with similar views. Just 22% of people who attended a dinner say their fellow guests included both supporters and opponents of President Trump. And compared to those who shared their table only with political compatriots, those bipartisan diners were only about half as likely to talk about politics.
More broadly, though, holiday strife just isn’t really that common. Only 5% of people who attended a Thanksgiving dinner say they got into an argument that wasn’t about politics.
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