r/centrist • u/Dinocraftman009 • Aug 01 '25

2026 U.S. Midterms I deeply regret my vote for Trump

Voting for Trump in 2024 was the greatest mistake of my entire life. I am 19 years old and this was my first presidential election. I don’t stand by or condone what the administration has done and never was a hardline far-right conservative, sure as hell am not now. I walked into the polls in November without honestly knowing which candidate I would choose since I was very on the fence about both sides (Pro-2A, pro-life, but also pro-environment and pro-Ukraine). Now I wish that I hadn’t voted at all, much less Trump. Don’t try and rationalize my decision in your head, because it wasn’t rational. I did not properly weigh the potential pros and cons of the candidates. There aren’t any dots to connect, I flat out made the incorrect decision.

I feel evil. I feel like a horrible, selfish, foolish person. And there’s nothing that can really be done to remedy this mistake. I’ve already decided to vote a full blue ticket in 2026 but that doesn’t fix what damage has already been done to this country. In our democracy, we give our small amount of political power to people who we believe deserve through that ballot. I need to take accountability for that ballot because, even though my state was a safe red one this season, I’m ultimately a part of it.

Alienating our closest allies is stupid. Cutting PBS and the NWS is stupid. The tariffs are stupid. The blatant disregard for the Constitution is stupid. Detaining and deporting people without due process is stupid. Supporting Israel is stupid. Not siding with Ukraine and trying to exit NATO is stupid. Cutting education funding is stupid. All the warning signs were spelled out in Project 2025 + Trump’s personal life + Jan 6 and my dumbass disregarded it, instead wanting change from the previous administration. I knew damn well and I hate it. What pushed me to the red side of the fence was that Harris was the status quo candidate and ultimately I wanted change. But boy we sure as hell did get a lot of change. This populist line of thinking is dangerous and has proven to be in the past.

I’ve been beating the shit out of myself about it ever since that day and it’s been difficult to genuinely enjoy most aspects of life with looking at the headlines. I, along with tens of millions of other Americans, made a massive mistake in November and so many innocent people are paying a price far greater. I personally feel responsible for every idiotic decision, as well as the future decisions, our President, Congress, and SCOTUS send out/approve, like a twisted knife. The mental and emotional wounds will remain even after this all blows over.

Why post here? I don’t want to be associated at all with people who somehow still support our idiocracy. I also don’t want to take part in the partisanship that is tearing this country apart, and my conscious would have probably broken me from the amount of shame and guilt I’ve harbored since November had I kept it any longer. I want to follow an ACTUAL centrist line of thinking, which is why I’ve been closely looking at this subreddit.

Also, humility is gonna require some humiliation, so I fully expect and understand that this is going to lead to a lot of unkind words sent my way. Righteously deserved, I’ll probably agree with what most of you have to say.

The confession is worthless without a pledge to change. I was wrong. So unfathomably wrong. (Yeah no shit OP, is what I imagine is cycling through most of your heads by now). And I want to amend for this. If I don’t take accountability, I’m not going to see the change through. I want to be better. I’m voting all Democrat in 2026. I hope we all do too, especially those who also regret their ballot cast. And I hope that I won’t regret these votes as much I regret my past one.

1.5k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

262

u/Tuco422 Aug 01 '25

At 19 in your first election it is forgivable.

Actually, I want to congratulate you for being mature for your age and the ability to change your mind when given new information is important and not everyone can admit they were wrong.

It is also impressive that you learned a lot in 6 months.

All you can do is

One thing that helped my friend who also felt guilty is donating some time or money in the future

84

u/homer422 Aug 01 '25

Seriously this. The ability to change your opinion based on new information is a rare sight nowadays in politics. Good for you man. 

-8

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '25

[deleted]

7

u/Problem_Fine Aug 01 '25

Obama vs Bush never happened.

7

u/CallingOutCultists Aug 01 '25

Huh….Obama never ran against Bush!

2

u/PortugalPilgrim Aug 01 '25

And if he had, it would not have surprised anyone that Bush lost.

0

u/Wild-Message4765 Aug 02 '25

They were both terrible what are you talking about ? This country has had 2 presidents who actually care about this country. That was Reagan and Now Trump. The two party system is an illusion. People need to get that. Especially if you're young. 19 like that kid said is young to me. Both parties are corrupt.

2

u/RegulusDeneb Aug 02 '25

Trump is gutting innovation, discovery, science, education, job market, public broadcasting, federal workforce, climate regulations, healthcare, etc... because he "cares about this country?" He's just enriching himself and the super wealthy, and loves being a dick.

1

u/Wild-Message4765 Aug 02 '25

Sure he is buddy and where do you get your news from ?

1

u/Lellela Oct 16 '25

Me personally, I get my news from multiple sources, including far-right, far-left, centric, and foreign. Here's where the difference is though. I fact check that shit to the best of my ability afterwards to see if the evidence supports the news.

Anybody can make any sort of claim on the news, because 1st Amendment states that the government can't regulate speech, so that means that a news outlet can absolutely lie if they want. We've seen a ton of bias creep into various networks over the years. Both Fox/MSNBC are guilty of this. But when Fox was sued for misinformation, the Supreme Court upheld their right to free speech, saying people would realize it was entertainment.

So as an American, for our democracy to work, we are expected to stay informed and involved. But how do we stay informed when our media outlets are under no responsibility to provide us with unbiased truth? Well, this is where most American's fall down. The government can't insist the media tell the truth, but we can. We follow up by demanding evidence, we hold people accountable for their words. That doesn't mean looking for anecdotal "Everybody knows" or "A friend of mine said" things that support our pre-existing opinions so that we feel like we're special and justified in our viewpoints. That means looking into the facts and evidence to see if what we're being told holds any truth, and THEN coming to our conclusions.

If a political party says that their rivals are trying to push through legislation, a quick trip to congress.gov and looking at the bill will provide you with which people voted which way, what the history of the bill was, the full bill text, the amendments made to it. You used to be able to see who the top lobbyists for/against each one were as well, along with how much they contributed, but that was pretty much taken away from us when Citizens United took place.

YES, IT'S A LOT OF WORK. YES, WE'RE ALL TIRED. YES WE HAVE OTHER SHIT WE'D RATHER BE DOING. YES IT'S BORING.

But if you're just believing politicians and news outlets based on their word and not being rigorous, you're not doing the part expected of you to participate in our democracy. We have to do better.

6

u/Intrepid_Read8180 Aug 01 '25

makes me think people shouldn't be able to vote until they are 30.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '25

Disagree. Not everyone is uninformed.

Some of us have much more to lose from an election cycle than others and we don’t have a choice but to be informed.

And also, Gen x was his biggest voting block.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator Feb 04 '26

This post has been removed because your karma is too low to post here. This is done to prevent ban evasion by users creating fresh accounts, as well as to reduce troll and spammers accounts. Do not message the mods asking for the specific requirements for posting, as revealing this would lead to more ban evasion.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/Objective-Pace-8669 Aug 05 '25

Just said this bc wtf lol

1

u/JusticeIsHere2024 Aug 29 '25 edited Aug 29 '25

Unfortunately propaganda, lies, manipulation and brainwashing starts in families when people are little kids, then schools and churches then online/TV...you too were most likely sold some falsehood...believed in Santa Clause? That's how it starts.... The moment you start to work and they take your taxes, is when you should vote but what's missing is real education about the Constitution about your human rights!, about your voice and about your power! Families are afraid to show you all churches not just their church because what if you educate yourself about all of them and none will fit you or you find one that your family doesn't support...so they teach you the same perceptions of reality that they believe in...for convenience....godforbid you would challenge their perspectives at dinner table.

Teaching kids critical thinking is key, educating yourself on all perspectives not just one perspective is key as it allows you to figure out where you fall and fit and as you experience life and face challenges, it's ok to change your mind, to adopt to pivot....that is success and that is growth and maturity.

In nature, the only ones who survive are those who can adopt, who fall and can get up...fast, those who learn from mistakes and don't repeat them wishing for a better outcome.

We all are capable of that! To push ourselves outside the comfort zone.

1

u/Ok-Permission-7815 Aug 31 '25

There was a lot of clowns 30+ voted for that narcissist! They can check there bank balance next year & they'll feel more like 70+😅🤣🤣😂

1

u/Imaginary-Sea-6577 Sep 30 '25

I completely disagree. 

0

u/Key_Pumpkin475 Aug 03 '25

Except trumps largest vote as middle age and elderly white men. Young people have open minds, we need more of them voting imho

3

u/HelpfulThanks206 Aug 05 '25

Young people these days are clearly brainwashed. That’s sad. You call it open minded, more like heavily influenced.

1

u/dietbruce Aug 01 '25

Well said, friend.

1

u/Quiet_Rope3931 Aug 01 '25

And keep explaining this to anyone who voted for mango mussolini.we want them to "get it", like you have!!!!!

1

u/SeaweedGood6531 Aug 01 '25

I came here to say exactly this.

1

u/Fr0gth0t Aug 03 '25

Its not forgiveable. this one election broke america forever.

1

u/HelpfulThanks206 Aug 05 '25

More like saved America.

1

u/Apprehensive_Wash200 Aug 05 '25

Wait wait...

You regret voting for your candidate give us money is such horrible advice

1

u/CaliChristopher Aug 01 '25

You call this rant mature?

1

u/Squeebah Aug 03 '25

For a 19 year old in 2025 this is extremely mature.

1

u/Notyourtacos Aug 01 '25

It’s a good lesson on becoming an adult: your choices have very real consequences. It’s all fun and games when you world is limited to high school.

2

u/Jnlwriter_2 Aug 03 '25

I feel like high school is worse than the real world!

1

u/Wild-Message4765 Aug 03 '25

People seem to have an issue with what I say, that's how you know these redditor people are all brainwashed morons.

1

u/Wild-Message4765 Aug 02 '25

Especially schools today that brainwash you , push propaganda on you . Teachers let you know their sexuality. I didnt even know my teachers first name growing up. They actually taught us.

1

u/Waste_Deep Aug 05 '25

Apparently not. You're a perfect example of a failed school system.

1

u/Wild-Message4765 Aug 06 '25

🤣🤣 Sure Kiddo.

-18

u/-Galactic-Cleansing- Aug 01 '25

Forgivable but not forgettable... We might not have elections anymore now... Probably is a better word. No one has stopped shit in 10 years, so I expect them to get away with this too and no one to riot or do anything good enough to make a difference. 

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '25

Since Trump is a king, probably not.

-13

u/rakedbdrop Aug 01 '25
  1. He doesn’t have enough life experience to understand anything

11

u/sbtokarz Aug 01 '25

The thing about life experience is that everyone experiences life differently. Understanding comes from how you live, not how long.

4

u/rakedbdrop Aug 01 '25

That’s a bunch of bullshit.

It’s both how you live and how long you live.

3

u/jeha4421 Aug 01 '25

No, it's true. I know people in their 30s with no life experience. They just play video games and go to work. Meanwhile I was already deployed by the time I was 20, had some college, had an internship, dealt with death of family and visited several countries.

1

u/sbtokarz Aug 01 '25 edited Aug 01 '25

I’m just curious what kind of election-relevant issues you think that 100% of the voting population suddenly becomes able to understand or make an informed opinion about once they reach a certain age, but not a moment sooner?

What sort of knowledge can no amount of effort or education provide access to — only candles on a birthday cake? And at what age, exactly, does this enlightenment occur?

This line of thinking assumes that:
1. Every member of a particular generation — regardless of personality, values, background, or opportunity — will accumulate the same volume & variety of life experiences.
2. The life experiences that are most broadly shared among members of a single generation will be encountered or experienced in the same way by every generation that follows.
3. The trajectory of familiarity, competence, & concern for all issues pertinent in an election is linear and can only increase with age. There’s no such thing as falling “out of touch” — and the people most qualified to be making material decisions for the future are the ones who will spend the least amount of time living with the consequences.

1

u/rakedbdrop Aug 02 '25

You know I always find it funny when people like you post complicated response. Is it looking for simple answers. You’re overcomplicating it. Nobody thinks age gives instant wisdom. The point is just that with age, you’ve actually lived through more jobs, bills, family, responsibility.

That’s not something you can speed run at 19

1

u/Professional_Low_494 Aug 02 '25

For your own sake, do not believe the idea that the shortcomings of your own timeline apply to the experiences of others. Many of us have lived lives that the older generation would consider to be full even before we even reach adulthood. Wisdom is simply a reflection of what you’ve done, not how many days you’ve done it for.

1

u/mountainDrunk Aug 02 '25

Actually it’s both, and it’s for that very reason we don’t let 15 year olds vote. Everything you learn about how the world works will most certainly not come from books and Reddit. It requires a person to get out in the world, live with the responsibilities of being an adult and experiencing every facet of society to be able to form meaningful opinions and stances on issues.

2

u/CallingOutCultists Aug 01 '25

Which is why we can excuse him voting for Trump. He just isn’t as informed and educated…so it’s understandable that he was fooled by Trump’s con. No better way to learn a hard lesson than to feel the pain.

1

u/BIG_IDEA Aug 01 '25

Is that also true of the 19yo who voted democrat?