How the Right Is Winning Over Gen Z

Newsweek

6 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
His path to becoming chair of the Republican National Committee's Youth Advisory Council started in a Tuscaloosa, Alabama, living room at age 10. The year was 2016 and Brilyn Hollyhand's parents were watching the presidential debate. "It's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country," Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said. To which Trump responded, "because you'd be in jail." Hollyhand said his household wasn't all that political before. Trump's comment changed everything. "I stood there, and I was like, 'Wow, where'd this come from?'" he told Newsweek.
Trump's comment drew negative headlines, but Hollyhand found it positively gripping. Not long after that, he created a political newsletter that went to seven family members; he now places its audience at over 400,000. Hollyhand's activity caught the attention of former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, who appointed him, age 16, as chair of the newly created youth council. The next election, 47 percent of voters aged 18 to 29 backed Trump's third presidential bid—an 11-point swing from 2020, per the Associated Press.
A group of young people rallying on the street.
A group of young people rallying on the street.
Giuseppe Lombardo/Getty
Political orthodoxy has long deemed Americans start by voting for the left before moving to the right with age. Yet in 2024 Trump came within four points of winning the youth vote and Democrat Kamala Harris within four points of winning the over-65s'. Newsweek spoke to young people at Georgia Institute of Technology, The Ohio State University and Tuscaloosa and found distrust in institutions shaping Gen Z's opinions, with Republicans seizing on the moment.
'The Ultimate Influencer'
Reflecting on the effect of Trump's quip on him, Hollyhand noted his plain-spoken tone and willingness to fight. "It was time for this populist revival," he said. "I think we were past due for someone like him."
After George W. Bush's presidency, the GOP became what Hollyhand likened to "an old Southern church congregation." The neoconservative policies exemplified by presidential candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney hadn't swayed new members, and Republicans had done little to invest in their "youth group." With Trump, that started to change.
"Donald Trump is what I call the ultimate influencer," Hollyhand said. "The concept of modern influencing is using a platform to get power, and Trump got so much power from Twitter, he went from a TV star to a president."
Brilyn Hollyhand, chair of the Republican National Committee's Youth Advisory Council, pictured with President Donald Trump.
Brilyn Hollyhand, chair of the Republican National Committee's Youth Advisory Council, pictured with President Donald Trump.
COURTESY OF HOLLYHAND
Some saw a leader willing to talk tough and speak to issues that mattered to them, who injected showmanship into U.S. politics, tapping into a growing distrust in American institutions. While this rallied a new voter post-2016, GOP institutionalists pushed back. Democrats and traditional Republicans, like McCain, curbed Trump's first-term ambitions, and cultural institutions, from Hollywood to universities, made clear his behavior violated their values.
For America's youth, it was chic to reject Trumpism. That changed with COVID-19. Hollyhand's age cohort faced a Democratic Party intent on curbing the pandemic with mask mandates, school closures and social distancing. It became cool to rebel against the establishment and embrace the alternative—MAGA and Trump.
Beyond backing pandemic restrictions as "Defenders of Science," then President Joe Biden and his party also adopted the brand of "Defenders of Democracy" in response to the January 6 Capitol riot. They limited media interactions and passed a flurry of bipartisan laws that made Biden the most legislatively successful president since Lyndon B. Johnson. Come 2024, however, inflation remained high and economic effects of COVID-19 restrictions were still being felt. The defender of the system role was far less popular.
The Spring 2025 Harvard Public Opinion Project Youth Poll found just 19 percent of young Americans trusted federal government to do what's right. The previous year's poll found only 10 percent trusted the media, 32 percent trusted the United Nations and 9 percent trusted Wall Street. Trump rallied against all but the latter. Traditionally, rallying against Wall Street has been a Democratic practice, yet in 2024 young Democrats felt leadership under-delivered on fighting economic inequality.
André Treiber, a 33-year-old Texan, is chair of the Democratic National Committee Youth Council. He entered politics in 2008. A millennial who came of age during the Iraq War and Great Recession, he said it is understandable that those his age and younger distrust institutions. He felt 2016 Democratic presidential nominee candidate Senator Bernie Sanders spoke to these frustrations, and served as a delegate for the Vermont independent that year and in 2020. Treiber said part of the Democratic Party's struggles comes from its failure to capitalize on the energy around Sanders' brand of populism.
Call for Change
It is well-known that a segment of voters who might have supported Sanders backed Trump, including podcaster Joe Rogan. And in 2024, a unique segment drew attention for splitting their ticket to support Trump and progressive New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Most of them attributed their decision to AOC and Trump's statuses as "outsiders" among the Washington establishment.
Treiber sees the concentration of Democratic leadership in Washington and the party's reliance on the town's consultants as a major issue. "Having that consulting class have such a strong influence on the party just means we are disproportionately not talking about or caring about the things that people are caring about," Treiber told Newsweek. He said he has carried out organizing work for campaigns in Texas and seen national consultants come in and present campaign strategies derived from national polling that presents as out of touch when directed to voters. Treiber wants change.
Andre Treiber, chair of the Democratic National Committee Youth Council.
Andre Treiber, chair of the Democratic National Committee Youth Council.
COURTESY OF TREIBER
The election of Ken Martin as DNC chair was supposed to bring that about, as the former Minnesota state party chair pledged to decentralize power. However, his tenure has been off to a rocky start amid reports of party infighting—much of this around displeasure with the party's approach to Trump and unifying its message.
Ohio State students Tryphena Sarpong and Sara Temesgen—both 19, Black and raised in Ohio—voted for Harris, but felt her campaign focused too heavily on opposing Trump and amplifying divisive issues like gun control and abortion. Sarpong, who studies finance, felt Harris' views were rigid and didn't acknowledge valid concerns of conservatives. Temesgen, on a pre-med track, said the Democrats' characterization of Trump supporters did not match her experiences with them.
The dozen students Newsweek interviewed across the two schools, of different races and genders, struck similar tones. While some offered more partisan positions, most expressed discontent with both sides, generally making their decision in opposition to the most partisan elements of the less desirable party. This is particularly problematic for Democrats when core sections of their base, youth voters and people of color, lack enthusiasm for the party.
Temesgen felt voters are more aware of political nuances on social media, so a candidate must offer more there than simply not being their opposition. "TikTok is the platform that most young people are on, and if you're not open-minded, I feel like you're automatically...deemed ignorant," she said. Treiber thinks his party should let candidates tailor their platforms to the regional interests of their communities but stand firm on core values by drawing red lines on topics like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and immigration.
Without a Democratic primary after 2020, there was no route for them to reaffirm their platform, and Harris struggled to communicate where she differed from Biden or intended to continue his policies. A 2028 Democratic primary will likely help address this, but there's more to do to sway the young voters they lost and match Republicans in mastering distrust politics.
Building Trust
Young politicos understand that America cannot continue on its current course. National debt totals $36 trillion, the top 10 percent hold 69 percent of U.S. wealth, and goals like owning a home and attending college remain out of reach for many. Inherent to these issues are the actions of previous generations of politicians and business leaders. Yet, America remains the world's leading power, which means its institutions remain serviceable.
While the effects of Trump's second presidency remain to be seen, his administration has already met its promise of disrupting the status quo of the federal government. It also passed tax reforms that some economists warn will increase corporate profits while worsening economic inequality. Much of the Democratic Party remains committed to defending a federal government that only 22 percent of all Americans trust to do what's right.
Both parties face conversations on whether achieving prosperity involves reforming or tearing down the system. Treiber said the Democrats are having that conversation, while Hollyhand believes his party has a clear path forward in Trump's America First agenda. Either way, the process will most certainly require building Gen Z's trust.
Editor's Note: This story was written under advisement of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where the author conducted this reporting in completion of his Master of Arts thesis.