Divided America: Just a quarter of Clinton and Trump supporters have more than a few friends on the other side of the political divide

There's a dramatic divide between the supporters of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, with both sides refusing to make friends with the other, a new report has revealed.

Only 25 per cent of Trump supporters have 'a lot' or 'some' close friends who support Clinton, the Pew Research Center study has shown.

And among Clinton fans that number is even lower - with just 19 per cent saying they are close to those voting Trump,Politico reported.




The study, performed by thePew Research Center, also revealed big differences in racial groupings, with 72 per cent of black Clinton supporters saying they have no close friends backing Trump.

That's twice the 36 per cent of white Clinton fans who said the same.

There are also generational divides at work: 58 per cent of under-30 Clinton backers don't have any friends who like Trump - but that number drops to 41 per cent for those older than 50.


Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study showed that most supporters on both sides tend to group together with people who agree with them.

Some 44 per cent of Trump supporters and 41 per cent of Clinton supporters said that 'a lot' of their friends are on the same political team as them.

And 38 per cent of Trump backers and 40 per cent of Clinton voters said 'some' of their friends and acquaintances agreed with their views.

Both groups are also more likely to talk politics with people who agree with their views rather than those who support the opposition, Pew said.


Just over three quarters (76 per cent) of Trump voters said they had conversations about the election with another Trump supporter.

But only 37 per cent have discussed it with someone who prefers Clinton.


For Clinton supporters those numbers are similar: 72 per cent talked about the election among themselves and 40 per cent broached the topic with a Trump fan.

Perhaps that's why only 37 per cent of all those polled said they'd had an argument about the election, and only eight per cent said it was a 'major' confrontation.


Despite this, most people said they were open about who they were supporting in the upcoming election.

Only seven per cent of people polled said that they tended to hide their voting preferences; 58 per cent said they didn't mind but didn't go out of their way to tell anyone.

And 33 per cent - mostly from the older demographic - said they were 'pretty outspoken' about their choices.

The poll was conducted June 7-July 5 using a 'nationally representative' panel of 4,602 adults - with 3,834 of them being registered voters.

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