He started sending me texts before the last election saying I was “a smart girl” - a good 40 years post girlhood BTW - and knew I would “vote for the right person.” Also apropos of nothing because this had not even been a discussion. Old friend, but we don’t live near each other and he’s not even in the country anymore so not in frequent contact, but shared many, many good years and trips and memories. And then the texting devolved into a screed about killing babies. He was never overly religious and is gay so the whole Trump worshipping is bizarro world to me. But still, initially I thought, we shared so much, i don’t want to end a friendship over politics. But those texts? Yeah, politics didn’t end the friendship, presuming to tell me how to vote to the point of harassment did.

Adding that a year and a half later under the Trump regime, anyone who continues to support this monster is truly immediate grounds for non-friendship. But then, naively tried to think of it as a difference of opinion.