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\u201cAre we really gonna talk about Trump tonight?\u201d Like Leslie Bibb<\/strong>\u2019s bluntly-bobbed Kate, I was surprised<\/a> to hear the president\u2019s name mentioned outright during the third episode of The White Lotus<\/em> season three<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the still early days of Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s second term, TV has largely fallen into two camps: veiled allegories of political dread in political dramas like Hulu\u2019s Paradise<\/em> and Netflix\u2019s Zero Day<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> or explicit commentary on the administration via fast-turnaround late-night shows and Saturday Night Live.<\/em> Shows like The White Lotus<\/em> largely live in the demilitarized, in-between zone. In season two, Daphne (Meghann Fahy<\/strong>) and Cameron (Theo James<\/strong>) couldn\u2019t actually remember if they voted in the last election, much less who for.<\/p>\n But in The White Lotus<\/em>\u2019s third season, the show gets more overt about its characters\u2019 politics. That third episode features a dinner table conversation in which Kate reveals that her life in Austin includes weekly visits to church. Her childhood friends Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan<\/strong>) and Laurie (Carrie Coon<\/strong>) feast on this intel, probing her on what it\u2019s like to live among the \u201cbible thumpers.\u201d Says Jaclyn, \u201cIf I was just around a bunch of Texans who voted for Trump, I guess I\u2019d just feel a little, you know, alienated.\u201d<\/p>\n Between coy sips of ros\u00e9, Kate downplays any awkwardness.\u201cThey\u2019re nice people. Really good families,\u201d she says, which leads Laurie to stutter: \u201cWait. Are\u2014are you a Republican?\u201d Kate says that, while her husband is, she identifies as an independent.<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t vote for Trump, though, did you?\u201d Laurie asks. Kate laughs, then offers a bless-your-heart stare that indicates her answer would be best left unsaid.<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Series creator Mike White<\/strong> had no way of knowing that his hit drama would be one of the first major shows to address the societal discomfort around a second Trump presidency. The White Lotus<\/em> was filmed before the 2024 election, and written back in 2022, Bibb confirmed to Variety<\/em><\/a>. (Production on the season was delayed<\/a> by the 2023 Hollywood strikes.) \u201cI feel like Mike had binoculars into the future, because when we did it, it just didn\u2019t feel [timely anymore],\u201d she told Entertainment Weekly<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI was like, We already did that. That was in the past\u2026. But he\u2019s like a little soothsayer, that Mike White. It feels like we\u2019ve hit a nerve.\u201d<\/p>\n Since airing in early March, the scene has inspired a lively panel discussion on The View<\/em><\/a>. Over on Elon Musk<\/strong>\u2019s X, Breitbart News journalist Alana Mastrangelo<\/strong> said<\/a> that the White Lotus<\/em> moment depicts \u201cwhat it\u2019s like being a closet conservative with uptight liberal friends and having to walk on eggshells around them in order to not kill the vibe of the night, knowing they can get offended at the drop of a hat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nX content<\/h4>\n