How Responsible Was Gen Z for Trump's Win
Following the election results, journalists and political commentators have been eager to determine which core groups were responsible for securing Donald Trump another four years in the White House. Many journalists have focused less on who voted for Trump and have turned their attention to who did not vote for his political opponent, Kamala Harris. This approach has led to a political blame game that often faults Gen Z with Harris's defeat. In an article by Teen Vogue, Lex McMenamin defends Gen Z progressives, feeling that people are wrongfully blaming this group for costing Kamala Harris the election and handing Donald Trump the presidency. They argue that had Harris been more receptive to issues that Gen Z felt strongly about, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict and climate change, they would have been able to garner greater support from the more Gen Z leftists. McMenamin argues that the 'lesser of two evils' argument has run "dry," given all the devastation happening around the world, but does not address how it is a relevant argument when the alternative is choosing a politician that is more staunchly opposed to the progressive vision they and other Gen Z progressives seek to achieve.
In an article more critical of Gen Z, Sara Pequeño of USA Today shares her frustrations in an opinion piece detailing her disappointment with her generation's failure to prevent another Trump term. Sara Pequeño explores how Donald Trump was able to attract Gen Zers, especially young men, to offer him support and blasts Gen Zers who chose not to vote or voted third-party in protest of Harris's inaction on issues important to them. She leaves progressive voters who withheld their votes from Harris with a frustrated message: "I hope the moral high ground was worth it." Tensions around the election's results have brought about a mixed bag of charged messages pointed at Gen Z as so much was at stake during this election. While these frustrations are understandable, it is important that those supportive of Kamala Harris instead focus their energy on ways of winning back the support of the demographic groups they thought they could rely on. While the news is there to inform the public, it also plays a crucial role in deciding what issues we give the most attention to. Focusing too much attention on criticizing Gen Z's voting patterns will likely do nothing but detract young people from participating in politics, given its contentious nature.
References:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/11/19/trump-gen-z-vote-harris-gaza/76293521007/
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/blaming-young-progressives-for-win-wrong
Hi Jacqueline, this was really interesting to read. I've been seeing a lot of finger-pointing and throwing blame from all sides of the political aisle, so this was cool to read to see the different takes from the left.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't think it's effective or a good use of energy to place blame on specific groups, I do wish more young people came out to vote. Young voters statistically turn out the least, and I was hoping our generation would turn out in higher numbers this year.
I love how you ended this week's post, though. You are so correct and I hope more people realize that. It is not the fault of a single age group or demographic that Harris lost, it is a combination of multiple factors, and when people finally stop placing unfair blame they will hopefully be able to see that.
Excellent work this week!
The election results has caused and sparked various interesting talking points and determining what led to the reason behind Harris's downfall is one that is being talked about the most. There are various reasons why Harris lost the election, and while I don't think that all of gen z is to blame, I definitely think that members of gen z who have labeled themselves as third party voters or progressives have played a role in her defeat. Speaking from personal experience, i myself have seen many gen z'ers actively advocate against voting for Harris or not at all because of single voter issues. Those groups of people actively had a hand at Harris's political defeat and it's ok to acknowledge this.
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