The Kids On TikTok Are Mocking Their Trump-Loving Parents

TikTok teens are often the drivers of meme culture these days. From k-pop stans on TikTok reserving thousands and thousands of tickets to Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June, and then, obviously, not showing up, leading to an empty stadium and an embarrassed Trump, to the Renegade dance, to nurses disseminating public health information, the app is a treasure trove of sometimes awesome, sometimes cringe memes. The newest TikTok trend is an unfortunate blend of both: TikTok teens are taking to the app to commiserate about the pains of living with, and trying to talk to, their Trump supporting parents about their support for him. It’s cringey because it’s sad to hear what parents say to their children, and awesome because it’s great to see a generation of teens dedicated to speaking with their parents and trying to educate them on issues, no matter what happens.

One 23 year-old girl named Bridgett Olek was kicked out of her dad’s house after he learned she’d been protesting for the Black Lives Matter movement. Her TikTok, a quick video of her driving and explaining that she had been kicked out and cut off, has 170,000 likes and tons of comments of people offering her places to stay or money so she can survive.

Another TikToker, Daren Girdner, posted a series of TikToks about how he tried to talk to his father about white privilege for hours, and ended up getting nowhere. Still, he was glad he had the opportunity to try.

For many of these young people, it’s clear that speaking out about what’s going on is their way of finding community with others who may be in the same boat as them. And while the internet can be a really toxic place, it’s not the worst thing in the world to see young adults and teenagers be able to commiserate about the struggles of living with people who don’t understand them.