Trump is making his play for Gen Z voters – by focusing on men
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s recent run of media appearances signifies a new target demographic: Gen Z right-wingers.
Nothing makes this more obvious than his recent string of podcast appearances, featuring interviews with comedian Theo Von, live streamer Adin Ross and internet celebrity Logan Paul.
He’s also taken steps to appeal to a hot spot for the online right, having an extended conversation with X CEO Elon Musk on that platform and appearing on Lex Fridman’s podcast, another interviewer popular among the online right.
All of these appearances have a unique through line, which is that they appeal to young, right-leaning men.
Trump’s gamble on Gen Z men may not be enough
Trump is making a concerted effort to appeal to Gen Z men through these appearances, a demographic in which he slightly trails Vice President Kamala Harris, though by a significantly smaller margin than he does among Gen Z women.
Generation Z spans from 1997 to 2012. Trump’s campaign seems to believe that the youth vote is a worthwhile pursuit in this election cycle, compared with previous ones in which the former president favored media appearances on Fox News.
I won’t vote Trump:I can’t bring myself to vote for Trump. But let me tell you why other conservatives can.
The biggest gamble Trump is taking is whether turnout among young voters will be what turns the tides in the election and if he can carve out enough of our votes.While high turnout among my age range is bad for Trump, his attempts to appeal to Gen Z men could help to soften the blow of high voting rates.
If turnout is high enough and he captures enough of our votes, Trump will be glad he paid his dues with his most popular young demographic, white men. But that involves a few ifs.
Gen Z is the generation that votes
Half of Americans ages 18-29 voted in 2020. Then we voted at historically high rates in the 2022 midterm elections.
Since then, when the hot topic of abortion access drove turnout, more than 8 million new voters have aged into the electorate.
This is very bad news for Trump, as Harris holds a 26-point lead among registered voters who were ineligible in 2020. His attention to his base among this generation, though it has the potential to soften the sharp defeat among the youth, is likely only to rally voters already in his camp as it is.
GOP is now MAGA:Where are the Republicans I grew up admiring? Trump has infected GOP with his MAGA virus.
Trump’s efforts would be better placed in his favorable demographics
The GOP continues to hold a strong lead among America’s oldest generations, and while more youth voters are “leaners,” or supposed swing voters, Trump is not the candidate capable of persuading left-leaning youth voters to cross party lines.
A candidate like Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a former South Carolina governor, could have had success bridging this divide due to her moderate appeal.
Instead, the GOP nominated Trump, who has unique difficulty rebranding himself among a generation who entered political discourse with him as the focal point. Young voters either love or hate the man, with a heavy skew toward the latter.
Trump’s attempts to claw back his share of young voters are likely too little too late to make a meaningful difference among a generation staunchly opposed to him.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.