Watch Julie Spira on Nightline – Politics and Dating Apps
While researching my book, “Love in the Age of Trump,” I strived to find as much balance as possible and to hear all points of view. I asked singles if they’d date someone who didn’t vote, and 87% said no. The poll on the Love in the Age of Trump homepage asks, “Would you date across party lines?” Almost 80% said they wouldn’t.
Then ABC News contacted me to be interviewed for their Nightline segment on ‘Righter,’ a dating app created by a female Trump supporter to help those on the right find their political love match.
I needed to find out why so many women were supporting Donald Trump, and why they felt so alone and in need of their own dating app. Shouldn’t wearing a MAGA hat on a mainstream dating site suffice?
The segment, “Conservatives Looking To Find Mr. Or Ms. Right On New Dating App” followed a right-leaning single woman on her quest to find a Trump supporter, along with interviews with the app’s female founder.
I was asked to weigh in as the online dating expert, on what I’ve seen in the digital dating world. From where I stand, politics has created a fiery love triangle for daters. There’s you, your date, and politics looking over your shoulder.
Online dating expert Julie Spira said on Nightline, “I feel that this presidency has created this politically divisive environment that potentially could cut the dating pool in half.”
“Dating a smoker has been replaced with politics on what I call the dating totem pole. People think their date can quit smoking, but they’re not going to change their attitudes about the issues associated with a particular candidate.”
As a dating coach, I believe you should post how you feel about politics if it’s important to you. There’s nothing wrong with swiping left on a profile of someone with differing values. It’s not about the number of dates; it’s about vetting them so you can have a good experience, make a new friend, and hopefully fall in love.
Julie Spira is America’s Top Online Dating Expert and Digital Matchmaker. She’s the author of “Love in the Age of Trump: How Politics is Polarizing Relationships.”
