It wasn’t that long ago that the phrase “the children are our future” was a source of consternation among Republicans who believed young people were overwhelmingly embracing the Democratic Party. No one told that to President-elect Donald Trump, who has found a new fanbase with Generation Z.
A new poll from CBS and YouGov has some pretty remarkable results. Among respondents under the age of 30, a solid majority of 57% said they are either happy or satisfied with the election results that sent Trump back to the White House, 56% said they are optimistic or excited about what he will do as president, and 65% said they approve of the way the president-elect is handling his transition.
The poll results show an improvement in Trump’s support among the 18-29-year-olds at the ballot box, which was itself an improvement from his previous campaigns for president. According to exit poll data from the Associated Press, Trump’s support among the youth in the electorate was at 46%, the best performance for a Republican presidential candidate with the demographic since former President George W. Bush.
Fueled by a never-ending cascade of memes, viral moments, hilarious quotes, and a new social acceptance, the youth are feeling Trumpy and have given the Republican Party hope that Gen Z is not a drone generation of liberal activists and may actually be on their side after all, as long as the party can reach them.
Over the past eight years, Gen Z has been through a rough time. The cost of living has soared, their dreams of owning a home seem a faraway possibility, COVID-19 wrecked their college experience, and social isolation left them feeling depressed and lonely. A significant portion of these things occurred under the watch of President Joe Biden.
There are no doubt many reasons why Trump did better with young voters, but his status as a cultural influencer cannot be overlooked. The Trump campaign outpaced the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris on TikTok, the preferred social media medium of young people by several million. Trump also had significantly more followers than Harris on his individual account.
The contrasts went further than the number of followers. The president-elect’s TikTok content was light on policy and heavy on personality and memes. It was fun! You couldn’t go a day without seeing a video of Trump dancing to YMCA, while Harris’s campaign account was heavy on reminders that celebrity X had endorsed her, alongside preachy pushes for people to vote for her.
It turns out young people are pretty much like everyone else: they want to feel excited and inspired about their candidates. They don’t want to be lectured to or told to support someone because not doing so will disappoint a pop singer that peaked when they were in middle school. Instead, they want a vision of America that makes them feel like they have an opportunity to succeed in building a life worth living.
If that vision comes with memes, UFC walkouts, Joe Rogan interviews, and a silly little dance, then all the better. It makes politics exciting and entertaining again while giving Gen Z a movement it can be a part of.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3243889/youth-feeling-trumpy/
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