A new NBC News poll revealed that 62% of current college students who identify as Democrats would never share a dorm room with a supporter of former President Donald Trump, showcasing just how serious the political divide is in the country.
This number is double the percentage of Trump supporters unwilling to room with Democrats.
Mediaite.com reported on the new NBC News/Generation Lab poll Saturday, noting that it surveyed the class of 2025 and revealed that "Democrats in that group really shun people who voted for former President Donald Trump. Like, a lot."
Again, 62% of Democratic students in that class claimed they would never room with a Trump supporter, while "Only 28 percent of Republicans said they’d ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ refuse a Biden voter."
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"Overall," NBC News reporter Mark Murray wrote on NBCNews.com, "the new poll finds a combined 54% of respondents say they would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ room with someone who supported the presidential candidate they opposed in 2020, while 46% said they would ‘probably not’ or ‘definitely not.’"
Generation Labs founder Cyrus Beschloss commented on the findings, stating, "That’s a pretty powerful picture — you have Trump dorms and Biden dorms."
The poll also surveyed whether students in the class of 2025 would ever consider dating or marrying someone who supported a 2020 candidate different from the one they voted for.
Murray wrote, "A majority say they wouldn't go on a date with someone who voted differently, and nearly two-thirds of them say they couldn’t see themselves marrying someone who backed a different presidential candidate two years ago."
Last year, the NBC News and Generation Lab surveyed the same group of students as they entered their first year of college about their outlooks on their own lives and the health of the country.
That year they claimed they were "optimistic about their futures, less optimistic about the country’s direction and experiencing anxiety and depression."
The poll this year found the same general attitude prevalent among the class, as they enter their second year of college.
Murray sought comments from several of the students surveyed about whether they’d room with someone from the opposite side of the political aisle.
September Mostranksy of Siena College told NBC News, "I could never live with someone who supported a racist, homophobic, xenophobic and sexist person," referring to Trump-supporting students.
Mostransky added that maybe she could find an exception for "somebody who is Republican. But when it comes down to it, Donald Trump is not the average Republican candidate."
Catholic University Student Ethan Strohmetz, a Republican, told NBC News, "A person’s political views do not affect whether or not I would have a friendship or relationship with them. Many of my friends have vastly different political views than I do, but I do not let that affect our friendship."
