--- title: Talking About Trump's Impeachment Is Bad for Thanksgiving description: A spate of recent polls show that most people have clear stands on whether or not they support Donald Trump's impeachment. canonical: https://time.com/5739113/trump-impeachment-thanksgiving/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-11-25T22:05:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:49:17.364Z article:section: Politics og:title: Talking About Trump's Impeachment Is Bad for Thanksgiving og:description: A spate of recent polls show that most people have clear stands on whether or not they support Donald Trump's impeachment. og:url: https://time.com/5739113/trump-impeachment-thanksgiving/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d832ad45ef7bd3b/698a06a5929fada5a6bf5533/thanksgiving-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Above view of passing food during Thanksgiving dinner. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Talking About Trump's Impeachment Is Bad for Thanksgiving twitter:description: A spate of recent polls show that most people have clear stands on whether or not they support Donald Trump's impeachment. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d832ad45ef7bd3b/698a06a5929fada5a6bf5533/thanksgiving-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Impeachment Makes for Bad Thanksgiving Dinner Conversation > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=048ae3e2-f498-4157-b8eb-3f2174f251cf&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=048ae3e2-f498-4157-b8eb-3f2174f251cf&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=048ae3e2-f498-4157-b8eb-3f2174f251cf&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 25, 2019 10:05 PM UTC  People passing dishes during Thanksgiving dinner. People passing dishes during Thanksgiving dinner.skynesher—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 25, 2019 10:05 PM UTC If you want to avoid indigestion this week, skimp on politics—and possibly the gravy—this Thanksgiving. Unless everyone at the table is wearing bright-red Make America Great Again hats or #imstillwithher pins, it’s best to avoid the political headlines altogether. Recent polls indicate there are very few people in your circle whose opinions will be bendable on the issue that has consumed Washington, D.C., this fall: [the looming impeachment](https://time.com/5737404/what-happens-next-impeachment/) of President Donald Trump in the House and his unlikely removal from office by the Senate. Only 6% of respondents last month told Quinnipiac University’s [poll](https://poll.qu.edu/images/polling/us/us10232019%5Fumub63.pdf/) that they were unsure whether or not Trump should be impeached and removed from office. And with nearly a year to go before elections, just 17% of Americans say they are undecided about whether they are voting for or against Trump, according to another NBC News-Wall Street _Journal_ [survey.](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6538104-19433-NBCWSJ-Late-October-Poll.html) Avoiding politics has always been a good rule of polite dinner conversation, but acrimony this season rivals the friction felt in November of 2016, when many Americans saw family members for the first time [after Trump won his election](https://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/). The long, heated arguments over that year’s turkey still send a chill down many a host’s spine. And today, like three years ago, the partisan and generational divides on impeachment run consistent and deep. According to the Quinnipiac University poll, [55% of respondents](https://poll.qu.edu/images/polling/us/us10232019%5Fumub63.pdf/) support the House impeachment inquiry, with 93% of Democrats backing it and 88% of Republicans opposing it. [Trump’s strongest critics in recent polls are under the age of 40](https://time.com/4469144/donald-trump-millennials-poll-hillary-clinton/), according to Washington _Post_\-ABC News [polling.](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LHZOvmGxA31NQboKQeaqHii1YoClJ-DWQtbIK-QwyjY/edit#gid=0) Many in that group stayed home in 2016, unimpressed with Hillary Clinton but are now organized and ready to flex their muscles. Millennials are the largest potential voting bloc in the country, with 72% of voters ages 18-29 disapprove of how Trump is handling his job, compared to 55% of voters ages 30-39\. That may explain why, according to an earlier Pew Research Center [survey](https://www.people-press.org/2017/05/17/partisan-identification-is-sticky-but-about-10-switched-parties-over-the-past-year/), about a quarter of young Republicans left the GOP between December 2015 and March of 2017. But all isn’t lost for the older MAGA crowd. Trump’s support among core Republican voters is expected to be his defense to block Republican Senators from defecting to vote to remove him from office, making his removal from office unlikely. And thanks to the buckets of cash that Trump and the Republican National Committee are raising, Trump supporters feel more emboldened to share their views or the President in mixed company. A May Pew [survey](https://www.people-press.org/interactives/across-the-table-would-you-share-your-views-of-donald-trump-over-dinner/) found 57% of those who approve of Trump would voice that support at a divided dinner table, while just 43% of Trump critics would do the same. [_Who should be TIME’s Person of the Year for 2019? Cast your vote in the reader poll._](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-poll-2019/) So, what are the odds the conversation stays with mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie? Unless your family is extremely disciplined, the odds are slim someone won’t take a passing partisan swipe, simply because so many people are following along. Bland Washington hearings already rival Monday Night Football’s ratings — and that’s before the action has moved out of committee and to the full House and then, if things go as expected, to the Senate in January. An NPR-PBS [poll](http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/NPR%5FPBS-NewsHour%5FMarist-Poll%5FUSA-NOS-and-Tables%5F1911181224.pdf#page=3) released last week indicates 63% of adults were following the inquiry closely, only a slight downtick from the 68% who said the same in September. Democrats are watching the hearings more than Republicans, while independent voters were watching by a 2-to-1 margin, according to NPR-PBS. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 75% said they were watching, and 70% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were doing the same. In other words, impeachment isn’t something being written off by anyone, despite the White House’s insistence the House inquiry is inconsequential. Instead, there’s a clear sense that Americans are investing in this conversation and its outcome, suggesting they will have strong opinions to share over a meal with their friends and family. They just shouldn’t expect to change anyone’s mind. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5739113/trump-impeachment-thanksgiving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5739113/trump-impeachment-thanksgiving/"},"headline":"Why Impeachment Makes for Bad Thanksgiving Dinner Conversation","datePublished":"2019-11-25T22:05:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T07:49:17.364Z","description":"A spate of recent polls show that most people have clear stands on whether or not they support Donald Trump's impeachment.","url":"https://time.com/5739113/trump-impeachment-thanksgiving/","keywords":["Impeachment","politics","Thanksgiving"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d832ad45ef7bd3b/698a06a5929fada5a6bf5533/thanksgiving-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elliott","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d832ad45ef7bd3b/698a06a5929fada5a6bf5533/thanksgiving-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Above view of passing food during Thanksgiving dinner.","caption":"Above view of passing food during Thanksgiving dinner.","creditText":"skynesher—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/impeachment/","name":"Impeachment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5739113/trump-impeachment-thanksgiving/","name":"Why Impeachment Makes for Bad Thanksgiving Dinner Conversation"}}]}] ```