prendere le parti

Literally, “to take the parts”. Compare French prendre parti.

prèndere le parti (first-person singular present prèndo le parti, first-person singular past historic prési le parti, past participle préso le parti, auxiliary avére)

1. (idiomatic, transitive with di) to take the part (of)
   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 16, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     I media conservatori nascondevano a stento la soddisfazione: i miei erano i commenti di un presidente nero privilegiato (professorale e supponente) che prendeva le parti del suo amico di Harvard ammanicato (maleducato e pronto a giocare la carta della questione razziale) contro un poliziotto proveniente dalla classe operaia bianca che stava soltanto facendo il proprio lavoro.

     Conservative media outlets barely hid their glee, portraying my comments as a case of an elitist (professorial, uppity) Black president siding with his well-connected (mouthy, race-card-wielding) Harvard friend over a white, workingclass cop who was just doing his job.

     (literally, “Conservative media did a bad job hiding their satisfaction: mine were the comments of a black, privileged president (proffesorial and arrogant) who took the part of his well-connected Harvard friend (ill-mannered and ready to play the race card) against a police officer coming from the white working class that was only doing his job.”)