From rising living costs to aggressive immigration enforcement, Americans nationwide are experiencing the ripple effects of the Trump Administration’s policies in deeply personal ways. Consequently, a familiar pattern has emerged online: former MAGA supporters expressing anger, sadness, and deep regret when the policies they once backed start hitting too close to home.
This is the case in a recent viral video series of a South Florida Trump voter’s emotional plea for her “terminally ill” undocumented father to be released from ICE detention. The videos circulated online after Florida-based filmmaker Billy Corben posted them to his Instagram, amassing thousands of views and over 40K comments.
“No one deserves to go through something like this behind bars,” the woman begins through tears, explaining that her father has lived in Florida for over half his life and worked the same construction job for decades.
She continues, saying, “This is about being human — about love, connection, and presence. I feel that it would be immoral and inhumane to let a man who is suffering and terminally ill spend what little time he has left in pain and isolation.”
“Please don’t let him die in his cell,” she begs. “Please don’t let his final memories be those of pain and isolation. The American flag stands for compassion, kindness, liberty, and justice for all. We’re all human, and today I’m asking for one human act of compassion to please let my dad come home.”
Afterwards, she includes a brief snippet of a phone call in which an immigration officer can be heard on the other end denying her request for the “medical release” of her father.
Days later, the woman filmed a follow-up video reflecting on the part she believes she played in her father’s circumstances by voting for Trump.
“When I voted for Trump,” she says, “I supported the very system that allows this kind of cruelty to happen. I’ve spent the last few days reflecting, and I feel like I’ve come through some sort of revelation.”
“I regret my vote so so so deeply, and if I could go back and change it, I would,” she says. “I’m reading, listening, learning, and unlearning everything that I thought I knew.”
Despite the woman’s emotional reflection, people in the comments aren’t so quick to offer sympathy.
“😮💨 but if your dad wasn’t arrested, would you still have these regrets?” one commenter asked.
“Stop blaming others for your choices,” wrote another person. They shared that they also grew up in a Red state, yet managed to avoid the conservative “propaganda” that the woman says shaped her views.
“Fuck ‘brainwashing.’ Anyone who voted for Trump who now regrets their vote only regrets it because it affected them. ‘Brainwashing’ would only work if they were taken against their will and reprogrammed. That is not the case with MAGA voters. They have their free will, and they had 10 years to see the monsters they were voting for. That’s why I’ll never ‘come together’ with these motherfuckers, should there even be an America anymore after the smoke clears. They helped doom this country, and they should wear it like a Scarlet Letter,” another person shared.
While it didn’t justify the situation, some people acknowledged that publicly admitting regret was a step in the right direction. “I don’t read all these types of posts,” one person shared, “but this one caught my eye. They’re openly stating they believed the propaganda. They seem to now recognize the cruelty and racism behind it all. It’s unfortunate that it took such a personal toll that could result in a really sad outcome for their family. I hope that, moving forward, both their actions and words are focused on correcting the harm they’ve caused.”
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