Poll: Many dread political talk at Thanksgiving

More than one-third of Americans dread the prospect of talking politics over Thanksgiving dinner, according to an Associated Press poll released Thursday.

The poll shows just two in 10 Americans are eager to talk politics, while four in 10 people don’t feel strongly either way. 

About 39 percent of Democrats hope to avoid talking politics, compared to 33 percent of Republicans.

{mosads}Women are also more likely to say they’d rather not talk politics, with 41 percent of women saying they dread the idea compared 31 percent of men. 

The poll surveyed 1,070 adults from Nov. 15-19. The margin of error is 4.2 percentage points.

The Associated Press poll comes on the heels of a study showing that politically divided families spent, on average, 20 to 30 minutes less time around the Thanksgiving dinner table in 2016 than in 2015.

The results follow a year of politics that saw a presidential campaign between two intensely disliked candidates that resulted in the election of a president who has seen low favorability ratings to date, according to polls.

An August 2016 survey showed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton with a favorability rating of 42 percent, while 35 percent of people viewed then-candidate Donald Trump favorably.

The latest polls have shown Trump with his lowest approval ratings to date. A poll last week showed 41 percent of people approve of Trump’s performance, while 59 percent disapprove.  

In recent weeks, members of both major political parties have been accused of sexual misconduct.