Young Conservatives Want Trump – The American Spectator
In a departure from his usual amusing — if not particularly insightful — posts, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk recently retweeted the surprising results of a poll conducted at his Turning Point Action Conference.
Of the young conservatives surveyed, 95 percent supported ending American involvement in Ukraine — surpassing even their support for Donald Trump. Trump, however, still outperformed all the other presidential candidates, pulling a whopping 85 percent. (READ MORE: Pence Could Thaw ‘Frozen’ GOP Primary)
BREAKING: Donald Trump wins new straw poll with staggering 85.7% of the vote!
Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump, @VivekGRamaswamy, & @KariLake on being the top vote getters in the Turning Point Action #ACTCON2023 poll by Trafalgar! pic.twitter.com/TptKUvItsS
— Turning Point Action (@TPAction_) July 17, 2023
In some sense, these numbers stunned me. For years, I have heard young people gripe about the gerontocracy that has a vice-like grip on American political institutions and seats of power. And it’s not as if the Republican primary doesn’t have youthful options, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s main opponent for the GOP nomination. So why does Trump — an old, straight, white, vaguely Christian baby boomer — dominate the polls among the young?
Trump Dominates in Turning Point Poll
For one, Trump is an enigmatic, electrifying personality. Few can bring hundreds of thousands of people to a rally and send them home glad they attended — but Trump can. No one has been abused more by the establishment than Trump has, and yet he still fights another day.
But more than just doggedness, Trump is attractive because he gives people — especially young, disaffected people — a vision of an America that doesn’t just benefit previous generations, such as boomers and Gen Xers.
These poll numbers at Turning Point’s conference seem to demonstrate a palpable ideological departure from the conservatism of the past 60 years. In other words, young voters prefer restrained foreign involvement in war and global markets — both approaches fundamental to Trump’s platform.
And with stagnating wages and rising costs of living, young people want to know that they can succeed in America like their predecessors.
“The main thing that people are going to be focusing on is economics, food on the table and high housing prices,” Turning Point conference attendee Colton Langs told the Miami Herald.
In addition to support for Trump and a widespread desire to pull out from Ukraine, further polling from the event shows that young voters favor securing the southern border, reducing inflation, and promoting election integrity. Less important issues — those around which DeSantis has built his campaign — included banning “racial and gender ideology” in schools, cleaning out the Department of Justice, and ending wokeness in the military.
In other words, the Trump agenda dominates among the young conservative vote — the future of the Republican Party.
Pence and DeSantis Loose Steam
Over the same weekend, former Vice President Mike Pence had an awkward exchange with Tucker Carlson while defending his support for the war in Ukraine, an unpopular stance among young voters.
Foreign wars line politicians’ pockets and distract from deteriorating conditions at home, such as inflation, rising crime, and a poor education system. And Pence, like other establishment politicians, has no intention of stopping American foreign involvement.
Unsurprisingly, Pence’s response to Carlson created a firestorm in conservative media.
Talk radio show host Mark Davis commented:
This is the fog that wraps like a shroud around a lot of Republicans who are trying to soften us up for forever war, whether they themselves know it or not, there are Republicans who thirst for the old days, the Cold War sensibilities, America versus Russia, and they want that back in a kind of self-defining way. Problem is, that ship has sailed in today’s Republican party and there are two kinds of candidates, the kind who know that, and the kind who don’t.
Pence’s campaign isn’t the only one floundering — DeSantis polled a meager 4.3 percent among Turning Point’s attendees, and his national polling average isn’t much better at 20 percent.
Kari Lake and Vivek Ramaswamy, in stark contrast, polled well at the conference for prospective vice-presidential picks. Both are outspoken in their support for the Trump agenda.
Clearly, culture war issues, while important for young conservatives, are not enough to push them to vote for, say, DeSantis over Trump. And DeSantis’ support for the war in Ukraine makes young voters hesitant to support him — understandable, given that this age group would have to bear the greatest risk if the U.S. took a more active role in the conflict.
“I think [DeSantis is] a great governor, but I’m not sure how he would do as a president,” Turning Point conference attendee Gracie Cooper told the Miami Herald. “I’m kind of scared that he would lean more towards going towards war against other countries, and so that’s not something that I’m super interested in. I’d like to keep the peace if we can.”
With falling voter turnout in younger demographics, it’s time that Republicans listen to the remaining voices of their youngest constituents.
Elizabeth Crawford is a rising senior at Hillsdale College studying politics. A member of The American Spectator’s 2023 intern class, Elizabeth enjoys drinking good tea and plans to pursue a career in journalism.
READ MORE:
Does Ron DeSantis Want to Be the GOP Nominee?
The Deep State’s Deeper Involvement in Biden’s 2020 Election Campaign
Read More: Young Conservatives Want Trump – The American Spectator