‘We Are The Youth!’

Young guys are becoming more right-wing, but we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves of what that means

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is out rallying angry libs against the Trump administration. AOC is commonly seen as a politician for the “youth.” However, most of the crowds she and Bernie Sanders attract are old.

Conservatives now want to challenge the claim AOC speaks for the youth. They insist the young are no longer socialists—they’re right-wingers.

This was the assertion of Fox News writer David Marcus. “AOC doesn’t appeal to ‘younger voters’ anymore,” he posted on X. “She appeals to disaffected 33 year olds who were ‘younger voters’ a decade ago. The kids have moved right.” Marcus, a Gen Xer, is certainly no youth himself. In the replies, he joked with fellow GenXer and former Never Trumper Karol Markowicz about how millennials still feel they’re young when they’re now middle-age. The same applies even more so to Gen Xers, especially the ones who claim to speak for Gen Zers. But don’t expect that generation to gain self-awareness anytime soon.

Regardless, Marcus has a point. AOC became a thing in 2018 when millennials were still the “youth.” Bernie’s youth appeal for both of his campaigns came from millennials. The Democratic Socialists of America was and is a very millennial thing. So are the dirtbag leftist podcasts. This cultural milieu is not at all a Gen Z thing. Maybe AOC will reach the under-30 crowd if she runs for president. But her “youth” appeal at the moment is primarily to the over-30 crowd.

However, just because Zoomers aren’t irony leftists doesn’t mean they’re ardent right-wingers. It’s a complicated picture. Men under 30 are more right-wing than they were a decade ago. Trump lost this demographic in 2016 while he won it in 2024. But he still lost the youth vote due to young women. While 56 percent of men under 30 voted for Trump, just 41 percent of women cast their ballot for the 47th president. Young women are more likely to vote than their male peers. Pretty much all of Trump’s gain among the youth comes from growing support among men, both white and non-white. Women, with the exception of non-college educated white women, went overwhelmingly for Kamala Harris.

Conservatives on X frequently misinterpret the Zoomer politics. When they see kids moving to the Right, they assume they’re adopting the same politics as extremely online right-wingers. That’s not the case. In fact, the Dissident Right, like the DSA, primarily appeals to disaffected 33 year olds who were younger voters a decade ago. The kids voting Trump are mostly FanDuel Americans. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something that needs to be understood.

The youth discourse on RW Twitter is driven by weird trends. A lot of guys in their 30s and 40s decide to post through their mid-life crisis. They’re able to find a sense of youth again through it. Some will identify as Zoomers despite being well into their thirties. Others will claim spiritual Zoomerdom while being bald, paying off a mortgage, listening exclusively to classic rock, and shuttling their kids to baseball practice. Observers shouldn’t confuse these self-proclaimed sensitive young men as actual young men.

Many users still perceive Twitter as the youth platform like it was in the 2010s. But politics Twitter is mostly a Millennial/Gen X space. In 2019, 44 percent of Twitter’s user base was between 30 and 49. Less reliable data claims the user base is now younger, but experience in the RW sphere casts doubt on that. In 2016, being a millennial platform meant youth. In 2025, it means middle-age. There’s nothing wrong with that as we all grow old and people still want to post. But guys still assume they’re talking with people under 30 when it’s more likely to be people over 30.

The youth are primarily on TikTok and Instagram, two platforms which the Dissident Right has little presence on. The Online Right is a Twitter-based phenomenon. The youth prefer streaming and clips. The Online Right, by contrast, prefers text over video. The Online Right’s content still centers around writing posts, while Zoomers obsess over videos. The Online Right mostly hates TikTok as either slop or a tool for Chinese subversion. Meanwhile, the youth love it.

Much of the big conservative content on TikTok would be mocked by the Online Right. Videos of black influencers proving that that Dems R The Real Racists get millions of views on there. It’s mostly basic bitch conservatism that would get dunked on by the Dissident Right–if it were posted to Twitter. But it doesn’t, and proves popular among right-leaning Zoomers.

This difference between the two was illustrated during the controversy over New York magazine’s “Cruel Kids Table” cover photo. The image, which showed attractive young whites at a swanky inauguration party, became a hit with the Online Right. Anons saw themselves at this party, though pretty much none of them attended it. They thought it was great publicity for the Right and showed how BASED the youth are. They loved the image of the Right as arrogant white youth.

The problem is that the people who were actually in the photo and attended the party hated the image. The pretty girl at the center of it lashed out at the depiction and insisted it was a “kind kids table” that was diverse and welcoming. Influencers who attended the party, sponsored by none other than TikTok, threatened legal action against the mag for cutting out all the non-whites who should’ve been in the frame. C.J. Pearson, the influencer leading the charge against the cover, would later denounce Darren Beattie as a racist following the Revolver’s proprietor’s appointment to the State Department.

The difference in political outlook was clear.

Most young Trump voters share more in common with FanDuel Americans. As I wrote last year of this group:

There are many things that blackpill right-wingers that don’t upset FanDuel Americans. Eroding WASP norms and new ones that approve of visible tattoos and smoking weed in public? The FanDuel American doesn’t know what a “WASP” is, doesn’t mind tattoos, and smokes weed himself. Radically changing demographics that’s making America less white? The FanDuel American doesn’t care, brags about his black friends, and thinks diversity makes his favorite team better. Nobody going to church? The FanDuel American doesn’t go either. Everyone wasting money on sports bets and OnlyFans? So does the FanDuel American.

The FanDuel American has some conservative instincts. He likes the free market. He supports the troops. He stands for the National Anthem. He doesn’t list his pronouns.

But this isn’t what he truly cares about. He cares about distractions, and he strives to make enough money to pursue them.

These young people leaning right hate wokeness, but that doesn’t mean they care about the Great Replacement. They prefer Trump because they think his policies will allow them to pursue their happiness in peace. It’s a helluva lot better than them becoming libtards; just don’t expect them to be down for “fascism.”

There is a minority of young conservatives who are legitimately into these issues. The ones getting involved in movement conservatism are far more right-wing than the millennials who did a decade ago. This is an incredible development. These are the kids who will make the future of the Right. However, they shouldn’t be taken as representative of their generation. These guys (most are ment) are aware of the problems of Gen Z and realize they are outliers. Their first-hand knowledge should dampen the fantasies Gen Xers and millennials have of Zoomers.

Every political faction wants the youth on its side. America is particularly fixated on the young. Growing old is considered a curse. Having your politics associated with geriatrics is a disadvantage. You are seen as the discredited past. Being associated with the youth demonstrates vitality and a future orientation. It’s why both the AOC Left and the New Right want to be seen as youthful movements. Whether they actually are is another matter.

The Right is doing better with young Americans than they were in the 2010s. This is nothing to scoff at. But we shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking the Zoomers are Generation Based. It’s also not guaranteed that the under 30s will vote in the same way in 2028. Their lack of deep commitment means many could shift to the Left in the next few years. If Zoomers feel the economy screws them over, they could cast their ballot for AOC.

Whatever happens, older conservatives shouldn’t declare their ideology as that of the youth. It’s too premature to get that cocky.