The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: Who Will Nab the 'Youth Vote'?
This week we're looking at a how young people are looking at two long-running American traditions that happen every four years: the presidential election and the summer Olympics.
How is each candidate doing with the youth?
An estimated 55% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 voted for president in 2020, which is higher than in any election since 1972—so young people's votes matter. As you know, I am an internationally recognized expert on what young people think and how to influence them politically. (And yes, I am available for high-paying political consulting jobs from PACs or Super-PACs on either side of the political fence.) So I thought I’d compare how the presidential candidates’ outreach to young voters is going so far and determine the winner of the youth vote.
Donald Trump
Having been edged out in a close election in 2020, Donald Trump’s success hinges on broadening his support with groups that didn’t vote for him last time. He reached out to African Americans last week by appearing at the National Association of Black Journalists, and it went really well. This week, Trump turned to young voters, appearing as a guest on video game streamer Adin Ross's livestream on Kick. Ross, who was banned from streaming site Twitch for “hateful conduct” and has previously hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes and alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate, gifted Trump with a Rolex and Tesla Cybertruck wrapped with a photo of Trump nearly being killed by an assassin. As for how the "historic" meeting went, Trump did a “TikTok dance” with Ross, then, presumably because he heard kids like the rock and/or roll music, Trump turned up the Cybertruck’s system and bumped some grandpa rock: “California Dreamin” by the Mamas & the Papas, “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys, and ”Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.
I asked my astute 17-year-old son about whether the outreach worked on him, and after rolling his eyes, he said, “Trump’s trying to capture the youth vote with this stream, but he forgot that 12-year-olds can’t vote.”
Kamala Harris
Since we looked at Trump's tunes, Kamala Harris’s musical tastes include Cameo’s “Word Up,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble,” and E-40’s “Yup.” She also listens to Charlie Mingus on vinyl (swoon) which locks down the aging hipster vote. Music aside, since Harris took over as presumptive democratic party nominee from that other guy a couple weeks ago, she has enjoyed an outpouring of support, enthusiasm, and memes from the youngsters on social media. If we settled elections with online enthusiasm, Harris would win in a landslide, but then, Ron Paul would have won in 2008. Anyway, Harris hasn’t had to do much youth outreach because not being an ancient weirdo is enough to have Harris beating Trump by 20 points with voters between 18 and 34. Her VP choice, populist Minnesota governor Tim Walz, seems to remind young people of the dad they wish they had, and that probably doesn’t hurt.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Since he started his presidential run, RFK Jr. has admitted he’d once eaten barbecued dog (maybe it was a goat), dumped the carcass of a dead bear in Central Park, and that worms ate part of his brain. Clearly the top choice for the young.
What is a “quiet vacation?”
The newest trend among older Gen Z and younger Millennials in the workforce is “quiet vacationing.” An offshoot of “quiet quitting,” a quiet vacation is when a work-from-home employee travels while continuing to do their job, without telling their bosses that they’re filling out the TPS reports from Tahiti instead of Yonkers. I feel like working during your vacation is just working, not taking a vacation, but if a change of scenery helps employees not claw their eyes out, I don’t know why anyone would have a problem with it. I don’t know why anyone would feel the need to hide it, either. But I’m not the boss of anybody.
The meme kings and queens of the Olympics
The Olympics have been in full effect for nearly two weeks, and a few athletes have risen to the top of the internet for their meme-ability. Here are the most-memed Olympians in 2024, presented in no specific order:
Steve Nedoroscik, US pommel-horse expert
Credit: @nascarcasm - X
Yusuf Dikec, Turkey's answer to John Wick
Credit: @temnco - X
"Gifted" pole-vaulter Anthony Ammirati
Credit: Jenn Takahashi - X
Cheese-loving gymnast Giorgia Villa
Credit: Giorgia Villa - Instagram
Simone Biles clapping back at Donald Trump
Credit: Simone Biles - X
Viral videos of the week: Old white dudes being racist
A definite theme emerged in viral videos this week: "old white dudes being racist" is trending hard. Here are three examples of this genre:
Donald Trump questions when Harris turned Black
Trump says: "She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went—she became a Black person. I think somebody should look into that.” But who does he think should look into it? Is he appealing to some governing body that determines people's Blackness to make a determination?
Racism in Virginia City
TikToker unclerickyd1 posted a video this week of an awful encounter with a bunch of racists in Virginia City, VA. After being told that there was a "hanging tree" for people like him, UncleRicky is surrounded and harassed by a group of geriatric weirdos, some wearing Trump hats.
Unlike Trump, the people captured in this video, especially main instigators Gary Miller and Janis Cusack Miller, are going through some things. They've been denounced by the city they live in. The sheriff's department is opening an investigation into the incident. The organizers of the event they were attending revoked their registration. Their details have been spread far and wide on the internet along with evidence of that they're not to be accepted in polite society. In response they pulled their business's Facebook account over the negative comments, and took down its Yelp page over the one-star reviews. Janis Cusack Miller seems to have tried to delete her Facebook page, but instead posted a photo of the instructions for how to delete your Facebook profile.
Grandfather's funeral labeled as a gang meeting
This third video tell a more complex story of an old white dude being racist. Said old white dude insists his Black neighbors are hosting a gang meeting, even though they're hosting a family gathering for a funeral. The twist in the story: Unlike the people in Virginia City and (probably) Donald Trump this old white dude seems to have dementia—the way he shambles, the confused look in his eye, the insistence that a car is blocking his driveway even though it clearly isn't, all suggest "Mr. James" is not right in the head any more. His mortified-looking wife tries to shoo him back inside, but Mr. James's neighbors respond with grace. They are patient and understanding, even though they'd be well within their rights to be screaming at him.
In discussing young people's involvement in presidential politics and the Olympics, it's important to consider the role of entertainment in capturing the youth vote. Donald Trump's appearance on Adin Ross's livestream, known for hosting controversial figures, was an attempt to reach out to younger voters, but some criticized the choice of music and associates as not resonating with the audience.
Furthermore, the use of music as a tool in political outreach was evident in Kamala Harris's musical tastes, which included Cameo, Kendrick Lamar, and E-40, as well as Charlie Mingus on vinyl, appealing to various generations of young voters.
