How to Handle Your MAGA Uncle at Thanksgiving (Without Ruining Dinner)
Some facts and messages for the inevitable, awkward political conversation over Turkey.
It’s Thanksgiving — that great American holiday where families gather to eat turkey, watch football, and give thanks.
And ever since Trump rode down that escalator a decade ago, Thanksgiving has also become a holiday filled with awkward political conversations. Over the years, Pod Save America listeners and Message Box readers have asked me for talking points or guidance on how to win an argument with the MAGA relative seated next to them.
I’ve generally resisted this request because my primary piece of advice is: you don’t have to talk politics at Thanksgiving. There is no obligation to ruin the holiday by getting into a big argument with someone who is unlikely to change their mind, no matter how persuasive you are.
Partisanship is a powerful drug, and one of its side effects is motivated reasoning. There is no set of facts or talking points that will move your uncle or cousin who showed up in a “Trump 2028” hat or “Let’s Go Brandon” t-shirt. It’s not worth spiking your blood pressure or ruining everyone’s meal.
But as many of you have pointed out over the years, sometimes you don’t have a choice. The conversation comes whether you like it or not. So here are some basic messages and facts to push back on the talking points you may hear at Thanksgiving (or anywhere else).
1. The Price of Thanksgiving Is Not Down This Year
One of Trump’s favorite talking points is that Walmart says the price of Thanksgiving is down 25% this year.
Trump is referring to a package of items Walmart sells every Thanksgiving that includes a turkey and other festive staples. And yes, the 2025 Walmart package is 25% cheaper than the 2024 version. But there’s a reason for that — and it has nothing to do with Trump lowering consumer prices.
This year’s version includes seven fewer items than last year’s. It costs less because you’re getting less.
And for what it’s worth, Purdue University estimates that the cost of wholesale turkeys is up 75% this year.
2. Prices Are Up, Not Down
The Trump Administration is in the middle of a campaign to convince Americans that they are lowering prices. The one person who isn’t on board is Donald Trump, who keeps insisting that costs are down.
They aren’t. And anyone telling you otherwise is either so rich that they don’t notice prices or living in a state of delusion. But if you need facts, here are some numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — run by Trump’s handpicked loyalists — comparing prices in 2025 to 2024:
Grocery “Food at Home” overall: +2.7%
Meats, poultry, fish & eggs: +5.2%
Beef: +14.7%
Coffee: +18.9%
Fruits & vegetables: +1.3%
Prices are up since last year. Trump has failed on the central promise of his campaign.
3. Tariffs Are Raising Your Prices
Some of these increases are due to inflation, which your uncle will inevitably blame on Biden. And to be fair, inflation is a global phenomenon that’s difficult to tame.
But Trump has made the problem worse by imposing tariffs on imported goods — food, electronics, auto parts, and more.
Trump absurdly denies that tariffs (taxes on consumers) raise prices. Anyone who has taken Econ 101 understands that the importer pays a tax to the U.S. government and passes the cost on to you. Study after study shows that Trump’s tariffs are raising prices on American consumers.
If that’s not enough evidence for your tablemate, here’s a simpler one:
One of the Trump Administration’s top strategies for lowering grocery prices is to pause the tariffs.
If pausing them lowers prices, then imposing them raises prices.
Pretty simple.
4. Trump Is Continuing the Foreign Wars
In 2024, Trump ran on ending “forever wars.” He now claims he has ended or prevented seven (or maybe eight?) wars. Honestly, who can keep track?
We could go through each claim individually to show why this is nonsense, but that’s not worth your time. In some cases Trump deserves limited credit. In others, he deserves none.
Here are a few simple, undeniable points:
Trump bombed Iran.
Trump is currently bombing boats near Venezuela without congressional approval or a legal basis.
Trump is selling fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
So no, Donald Trump does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize just yet.
5. Donald Trump Is Very Corrupt
Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history — more corrupt than Richard Nixon. This is a tough pill for Trump supporters to swallow. One of Trump’s appeals was that he’d take on a broken, corrupt political system. The fact that he’s now profiting from that same system is one of the most devastating arguments against him.
Some examples:
Getting Rich(er) Off Crypto:
Trump has implemented a pro-crypto regulatory agenda at the same time his family is deeply invested in crypto. According to one major investigation, the Trump Organization has made more than $800 million this year from its crypto ventures alone.
A Free Jet from Qatar:
The government of Qatar gave Donald Trump a $400 million plane to serve as an alternate Air Force One. This isn’t a gift to the United States. It’s a gift to Trump personally. When he leaves office, he can take it with him — after U.S. taxpayers spend upwards of a billion dollars outfitting it with security and communications gear.
Mixing Business and Government:
Trump’s sons and son-in-law are cutting deals with foreign governments, creating massive conflicts of interest.
Jared Kushner is raising billions from Middle Eastern governments for his investment fund while helping shape the administration’s Middle East policy.
Eric and Don Jr. are securing sweetheart real-estate deals from countries eager to curry favor with the Trump Administration.
Trump and his cronies are getting rich while the rest of the country is paying higher prices.
6. Refocusing the Immigration Debate
I’ll be honest: immigration is the trickiest argument, not because Trump’s policies are popular (they’re not), but because Republicans have created an alternate reality around the issue.
Still, you can make a few effective points:
Agree that the border should be secure and that dangerous criminals should be a priority for deportation.
Acknowledge that Biden’s early border policies were insufficient — voters already think this, so owning it builds credibility.
Point out that Trump is going too far by sending masked ICE agents to terrorize communities, including legal residents and American citizens.
ICE under Trump is targeting people who have lived here for years, paid taxes, and built families, instead of focusing on criminals and gang members.
Polling consistently shows voters may agree with Trump’s goals, but not with his extreme approach. Focus on how he’s doing the right things the wrong way — and harming the wrong people.
7. Final Thoughts
There is no end to the arguments one can make about why Trump is dangerous. I’m focusing here on the areas most likely to come up — and the ones polling shows are most persuasive.
But I’ll say it again: you don’t need to talk politics at Thanksgiving, and you definitely don’t need to bang your head against a wall arguing with a diehard MAGA relative.
If you’re looking for a persuasion target because small talk is unbearable, look for your cousin who’s checked out of politics or the relative who voted for Trump but is disappointed by his performance.
And if you do get dragged into a political back-and-forth over the holidays, I hope this helps. If you liked this post, please share it.
And if you want more posts that help you talk about politics with the people in your life, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving
The Republicans don’t want to address immigration problems; they want to endlessly campaign on them. Remember Trump ordered the Senate not to pass the bipartisan immigration bill hammered out in 2024. Trump wasn’t even president at that time. The Republicans are worse than useless because they don’t want to face up to the difficult choices necessary to govern. They have no guts.
I am thankful for many things this year, including you and The Message Box. I really appreciate the talking points on immigration, because it is, as you say Dan, a “means” issue. My fear is that once these reasonable thoughts are vocalized, my relatives will ask, “Ok smarty pants, then how do you propose we fix immigration?” My only responses to that would be: (1) make use of technology, camera-monitoring across border where crossing is not permitted as a surface-level enforcement tool (Will Hurd suggestion); (2) separate crime from immigration violations (proceeding with caution), while recognizing the potential benefits of overlap of penalties for crimes committed by illegal folks that includes deportation and inability to return (after, maybe, expedited Court involvement); and (3) revamp US law school curriculum, to provide career track to become immigration law practitioners (who become experienced Judges) - - I think law schools offer a single elective or maybe an externship or clinic. A friendly jibe at the right time may include, “Hey, can someone please pass the Due Process?” “Oh, looks like you guys don’t have any of that on the table.” Wrap all that in a bundle of, “we are a Nation of (mostly) immigrants,” recognizing that our Country is an idea, not an ethnicity, race nor religion. And, if folks subscribe - - as they should to The Message Box - - we need good people who care about improving and protecting this imperfect social experiment, in which we all share (Ds and Rs alike) a great deal of pride. Then maybe comment on how amazing it is that anyone likes cranberry sauce; I still don’t get it : )