“What’s the matter with kids today” used to be the eternal lament of adults when thinking about the young generation. The thought was so relatable that it was immortalized in song in the musical “Bye, Bye Birdie.”
No longer. Today’s younger generation gives me hope. They are more enlightened than my generation and all the generations that came before. My kids and all their friends believe in equal rights and equal treatment for everyone regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. This is true for people their age all across the country more than ever before.
My kids identify as liberals, but these attitudes are also shared by younger conservatives. And that’s why, for the first time, a majority on conservatives under the age of 45 have had it with Trump. According to a new poll, most younger Republicans want a Trump alternative to challenge him in the 2020 primaries.
Furthermore, Trump is driving younger voters away from the GOP, and there’s little question that it’s because of Trump’s divisiveness, especially his attitudes on race.
And indeed, according to Della Volpe, in the Harvard IOP survey last month, only 55 percent of Republicans aged 18-29 approved of Trump’s handling of race relations, while 42 percent disapproved (for voters under age 30 overall, a mere 22 percent approved).
Race relations “seems to be one of the most significant drivers” of Trump’s faltering numbers with young Republicans, Della Volpe said, “with race being the wedge to open up greater divisions in the country.”
Many point to Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville as the moment they realized that the Republican brand is not something they believe in. Trump putting the blame “on many sides” shocked many younger members of the party and motivated them for change.
The RNC is aware that there’s an issue, but they may not quite be getting the message. At least one official seems to prefer blaming liberals rather than Trump.
Chandler Thornton is aware of the difficulties his party faces with young voters.
“You’re labeled as someone who doesn’t like diversity, is not very open-minded,” said Thornton, the national chairman of the College Republican National Committee, describing the challenges conservatives confront on campus.
But the blame for that faulty perception, in his view, lies not with Trump’s rhetoric but with ultra-leftist campus environments that shut down free speech, stymie civil dialogue and are institutionally biased, problems that have worsened as the progressive movement has grown more energized.
Good luck with the denial. I hope the party continues to ignore the younger voters right through Election Day in 2020.