Key Points
- Molly McNearney said her family’s political divide has become deeply personal due to her husband’s feud with Donald Trump.
- She revealed on We Can Do Hard Things that she’s lost touch with relatives who still support the former president.
- McNearney explained she was raised in a conservative household but her perspective shifted after moving away from home.
Jimmy Kimmel’s ongoing feud with President Donald Trump has put a strain on some of his and his wife Molly McNearney’s relationships with family members.
“What is it like to go from, like, a conservative family and become like, the Mockingjay of the other side?” We Can Do Hard Things podcast co-host Glennon Doyle asked McNearney, 47, on the November 6 episode.
“It’s definitely been challenging,” McNearney replied, explaining that she grew up “in a very conservative, Republican” household.
“I mean, I bought my dad a Rush Limbaugh tie in high school,” she continued. “I voted Republican, straight ticket, because that’s what I was told to do.”
However, the mom of two added that her views changed once she moved out of St. Louis and “met people from different backgrounds.” McNearney also said that she feels “a little bit of sympathy for people in my family who I feel are kind of being deliberately misinformed,” but that doesn’t stop the hurt that she feels.
“It hurts me so much because of the personal relationship I now have where my husband is out there fighting this man,” McNearney explained. “To me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family. Unfortunately, I have kind of lost relationships with people in my family because of it. It’s like this is not just Republican versus Democrat for me anymore. It is to me it’s family values, and it’s really hard for me because I grew up believing in these Christian ideals of taking care of the sick and taking care of the poor and I don’t see that happening with this Republican party.”
Kimmel, 57, also appeared on the podcast alongside McNearney and said that he has a “different way of looking at it” the situation.
“I just think they’re being fed a constant stream of lies,” the late night host continued. “I think that we live in a country where we were programmed to believe the middle-aged white guy on television telling us the news. Fortunately, for most of our lives, we had good people in those positions. You know, your Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather and Ted Koppel and Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw.”
Kimmel and McNearney’s appearance came weeks after Jimmy Kimmel Live! was abruptly suspended on September 17 due to the host’s comments about far-right political activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination one week prior.
Trump, 79, celebrated the show’s removal with a post on Truth Social.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he wrote at the time. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”
Less than a week later, however, the show returned to air.
Whitney Danhauer is an entertainment reporter specializing in celebrity news, legacy entertainers, and pop culture trends. She covers everything from classic rock icons and nostalgic TV stars to viral celebrity moments and the most talked about cast reunions. As the cohost of “Scoops Ahoy: A Stranger ThingsPodcast,” Whitney has built a strong reputation as a go-to source for Stranger Things coverage.
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