Amidst the glowing reports that Donald Trump captured a larger portion of the youth vote than expected, I was encouraged to discuss this with some potential supporters.
The backdrop: At the pickleball courts near my house, especially on weekday evenings, a variety of young players emerge, sometimes as many as 40 to 50. My curiosity about who some of them might have voted for got the best of me. Amidst a large group of young guys, between roughly 20 and 25, I asked about the election.
A Gratifying Result
Nearly all seem willing to engage. A few said that they didn't vote. One said that he voted for a third-party candidate. The rest affirmed that they voted Republican. Oddly, no one said, verbatim, that they “voted for Trump.” Instead, they would say they “voted GOP” or “voted red,” but no one mentioned Trump by name.
Now comes the gratifying part. I asked those who voted red what factors led them to such a choice. I was amazed to learn their rationale. One said he was upset that Kamala Harris had not been in any primaries, hadn't won any primary votes, and had only been selected as the candidate. It seemed to him that this was a critical short circuit in democracy regarding how a major party is supposed to offer its candidate.
Another said he was shocked when he saw a YouTube clip of Sunny Hostin on The View asking Kamala Harris what, if anything, she would have done differently during the Biden-Harris administration over the last four years. When he heard Harris say, “Not a thing comes to mind,” he recoiled. Then, he felt she was unqualified to run for the highest office in the land, let alone be elected.
A third reasonably gratifying response from yet another young pickleball player was that while he wasn't gung-ho on Trump or Republicans, he felt they had a better plan. Trump repeatedly announced what he would do about inflation, the border, foreign relations, etc. This young pickleball player said that having a candidate make a stand was miles ahead of someone who talked in vague generalities.
Stirring Reflections
After speaking with these guys and getting home later that evening, I reflected on what I had learned. Today's youth, at least in my small random sample, are not necessarily ill-informed. Maybe they're not gathering their news as we do, but they can obtain viable answers from various sources.
Since Wake County, where I reside, is decidedly blue and votes almost straight Democrat in election after election, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter these young voters. They did not represent the mainstream within their own county.
The young men I spoke with seemed to be either upperclassmen in college or maybe a year or two out of college – I hadn’t asked. It was enough to get their views on the election. FYI, the University of North Carolina, 25 minutes away, routinely leans left on all issues. Duke University, 20 minutes away, primarily leans left but has some deep pockets of those on the right.
North Carolina State University (NCSU), however, is unpredictable. Although it is only one mile from our pickleball courts, students have told me that NCSU professors generally don't attempt to indoctrinate students. That is good to know.
In Four Years
A lot can change even within a year, let alone before the next presidential election. We all know that. The ways that the Biden-Harris administration is undermining Donald Trump before he is inaugurated are infuriating. Sending long-range missiles into Russia via our proxy Ukraine, opening the border floodgates even more comprehensively, and enacting all kinds of domestic policies that will unfairly challenge the Trump administration are maddening.
Yet, this is the stock and trade of Democrats. They have no loyalty to the nation. Their quest is only for power.
In any event, four years from now, given that the Republicans do what they said they would, I think we'll be in good shape. If the views of these young men are any indication, the 2028 election bodes well. Let us all be hopeful.