New York Times sympathizes with parents who just don’t understand their MAGA children

Alex Behr, a 59-year-old Democrat from Portland, Oregon, revealed that she and her ex-husband were both shocked to learn that their 20-year-old son, Eli, had cast his first presidential vote for Trump.

"When Eli brought a 'Make America Great Again' hat home from college this summer, [Alex Behr] threw it into the corner of his bedroom. They argued about guns, immigration, and abortion, struggling to do so without permanently damaging their relationship," the article read.

The mother and son have also fought over text messages regarding Trump's legal battles, with Alex writing to Eli, "Facts don't matter to you. Love you. Have a good day." According to the article, the mother said she has struggled to have conversations with her son without "permanently damaging" their relationship.

The two have reached a dead end a few months after Trump's victory. Alex is concerned that her son is being influenced by conservative viewpoints that are presented to him on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. Eli believes that he has developed the ability to think for himself, a trait that he says he admires in President Trump

"[Trump's] not afraid to say what he thinks," Eli told the Times. "It seems like what he says is coming from him instead of coming from a big cabinet behind you, telling you what to say."

In a departure from the traditional dynamic of liberal children arguing with their conservative parents, the author of the report, Callie Holtermann, wrote that certain progressive mothers are grappling with the issue of their sons' support for the Republican president.

"Some liberal parents aren't so sure that they should try to intervene. Plenty see their sons' embrace of Mr. Trump as an expected act of rebellion, or a choice made by an independent young adult that they should respect," the author wrote. "For others, it has felt like a painful rejection of the values they have tried to instill in their children."

Alex Behr told the New York Times, "I've had to do a lot of soul-searching and reading about it to not feel like I've failed as a mom."

Although the majority of young voters cast their ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump made substantial gains in the youth vote and secured 53 percent of men aged 18 to 44, according to a Fox News voter analysis.

A number of parents told the NYT that the promotion of right-leaning beliefs through online conservative influencers "affirmed [their sons'] fears and vulnerabilities as they were aging into their masculinity."

Nevertheless, the majority of parents opted to continue to love their children despite their varying political viewpoints, which is in stark contrast to the advice of liberal commentators. Melanie Morlan, a Democrat from Spokane, Washington, told the paper: "I always tell [my son], 'I might get worried about you and I might feel sad because I don't think you understand some things that maybe you will down the road. But I'm going to love you more when you're struggling, because it's just politics.'"

As for Eli, he said that he no longer wears his MAGA hat around his family because he would like his mother to stay a part of his life.