Republicans in Washington are watching old friendships fall apart as differences over their party's nominee divide them, The Hill reports. "It's personal. It's painful. It's people you grew up with," said Matt Schlapp, former President George W. Bush's White House political director. "In politics, you make these really great, deep friendships because you work long hours and it's about issues that are important. When those relationships break, it's really heartbreaking."
A senior House Republican staffer who supports Donald Trump spoke anonymously with The Hill so his colleagues wouldn't find out where his allegiances lie. "I always felt that I would be viewed in a different light. I think they would have pegged me as being ... all the things the media has said about Trump. That he was a racist, a misogynist, a xenophobe," he said.
The staffer added that he isn't alone in his secret support of Trump. "It's kind of like you're doing this little weird sort of dance around it. You haven't admitted to them that you're supporting the guy and they haven't admitted to you that they really like the guy. And you get to the point where you'll say, 'I kind of like what he says about this.' And they'll say, 'Well I kind of like that too!'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Others who have been more vocal about their opinions of Trump have found themselves shunned. Schlapp felt his old friends grow uncomfortable when he arrived at a cocktail party and tried to approach them: "The conversation quickly ended," Schlapp recalled to The Hill. "Everyone looked down at their expensive loafers … I hadn't had that happen to me in a professional setting before. It's one of those moments when you wonder, 'Hey, do I have something on my face?'"
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
