We’re getting closer and closer to that fateful day in November, so, while we wait patiently (and anxiously) for what could be one of the most important moments for voters we’ll likely see in our lifetime, let’s get into another weekly roundup ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. This week, we’ll be learning about exactly how far Donald Trump will go to try and secure the Gen Z vote. Turns out, exploiting his teenage son Barron is number one on the list.
With Kamala Harris securely in Brat position, it’s evident that Trump is feeling the heat and is now taking desperate measures to try and ‘get down with the kids’. And, evidently with the help of Barron and his best friend Bo Loudon, Trump’s new strategy seems to be inserting himself right into the centre of right-wing online extremism.
According to The Independent, Trump has been escalating his online media presence, with Barron and Loudon cherry-picking conservative influencers for the former president to film with. 17-year-old Loudon is an extremely prolific right-wing content creator himself. Indeed, it would make sense for Trump to turn to the young conservative to identify which platforms he needs to engage with and which influencers he needs to be mingling with to secure a greater percentage of Gen Z voters.
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Loudon has also been personally putting his face out there and persistently spreading the message that a vote for Trump is a vote for Gen Z.
Recently, Adin Ross, an internet personality and online streamer with an extremely controversial history and close connections to Andrew Tate, conducted a 90-minute interview with Trump on his YouTube channel.
The video currently has 2.4 million views and the comments section is flooded with praise for both Trump and Ross. The Independent also reported that Barron and Loudon were the brains behind a recent power banquet at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, which saw the likes of PDB podcast host Patrick Bet-David and right-wing influencer Justin Waller, who has been branded by some as Tate’s “Heir.”
It’s clear that Trump is feeling threatened, particularly after having seen how successful Harris’ social media presence has been. @kamalahq, the official TikTok page for the current vice president’s presidential campaign, has 3.6 million followers and is run by what I can only imagine to be a team of seriously proactive Gen Zers whose ability to jump on trending audios and skits is beyond impressive:
Gen Z have a pretty favourable opinion of Harris, with a number of young Americans saying that they weren’t planning on voting when Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee, but they are now.
Harris has embraced social media in a way Biden and Trump never could nor will, and she’s benefiting from those young voters who are not only backing her in the polls but where it really matters, on TikTok.