First-Time Voters React to the Trump Shooting — & Reveal Why They’re Nervous About the Election

There are no two ways about it: Gen Z is inheriting a political nightmare. Their generation has already seen too much violence, rage, tension, and dissent across the political landscape, and to say they’re coming of age in a “tumultuous time” feels like a gross understatement. So it’s no wonder that they feel they’re facing an uphill battle.

“Young adults in Generation Z — those born in 1997 or after — have emerged from the pandemic feeling more disillusioned than any living generation before them, according to long-running surveys and interviews with dozens of young people around the country,” reported The Wall Street Journal earlier this year, a disillusionment reflected in Gen Z’s widespread skepticism of politics and discontent with both parties. “Young Americans’ entire political memories are subsumed by intense partisanship and warnings about the looming end of everything from U.S. democracy to the planet. When the darkest days of the pandemic started to end, inflation reached 40-year highs. The right to an abortion was overturned. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East raged. All of the turmoil is being broadcast — sometimes with almost apocalyptic language or graphic video — on social media.”

Just days ago, one of Gen Z’s own — 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks — attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a campaign rally, leaving one bystander dead and two more seriously injured, and losing his own life in the horrifying process. While there are still a ton of unanswered questions regarding his motives, we do know one thing for certain: it was a defining moment in the current state of politics. And for Gen Z, a defining moment in their perception of what’s happening in America.

We asked our panel of first-time Gen Z voters to weigh in on the event and the days surrounding it: what they’re seeing and hearing, how they think it will shape the rest of the election, and whether they’re feeling personally impacted.

Like most of us, they were stunned — but those who found out via social media were a little more skeptical, since the internet is renowned for churning out less-than-accurate information. “We all thought it was fake news at first,” recalls Amelia, 21. Stephanie, 20, who saw the news on Twitter, didn’t initially believe it either, saying she thought it was “some kind of joke people were making online.”

“There were a couple moments when nobody knew what was happening,” says Jack, 19.

As the news began to sink in, so did the gravity of the situation, leaving members of our SheKnows Teen Council feeling deeply unsettled. “The assassination attempt made me scared because I think it’s emblematic of the political division that is just getting increasingly out of hand,” confesses Amelia. Ajani, 18, reports that the assassination attempt made him feel “nervous and scared,” while Jack says, “it doesn’t make me feel super secure that Trump was shot at. Even if I don’t support the candidate politically, personally it feels bad that we’re still in an era of political violence.” It’s an era that Stephanie thought we were well beyond, and she describes the event as “eye-opening.”

“I thought it was, like, something of the past because of the security and level of intelligence that we have with technology,” she says. “I didn’t think that could occur again.”

Across the board, our panel of Gen Z-ers says they think the attempt will have a positive impact on Trump’s presidential campaign, especially given the candidate’s now-infamous reaction.

“I thought it was wild that he raised his hand afterward, like he was in a boxing match or something,” Amelia says. “It seemed like a really triumphant response to someone literally trying to, like, take you out.” She adds that she believes Trump is going to “feel emboldened by the fact that he survived an assassination attempt, and use it as a campaign point.”

“The photo of him raising his fist and saying something like, ‘Fight!’ and the Secret Service crowding around him I think is gonna be very important in the campaign moving forward,” says Jack. “It’s a picture that makes him look defiant and strong.”

“It’ll definitely benefit Trump because his supporters now see him even more as this kind of heroic figure for the country…he’s going to now push that agenda to help him create and gain even more supporters,” says Ajani.

Our panel also unanimously agreed that if the election were to happen tomorrow, Trump would emerge victorious. “I feel like Trump’s gonna win. Especially considering the assassination attempt, but also the debate and his V.P. pick…he’s just skyrocketing to victory,” says Jack. “With each step, it’s like he’s propelling himself, just gaining momentum.”

“If the election were held now, it would have an impact,” agrees political expert Dr. Nancy Beck Young, Moores Professor of History & Chair of the Department of History at the University of Houston. “[But] since the election is in November, it might well not have that much impact. Recent good news about the economy and news developments over the next three and a half months might overtake the assassination attempt.” She also believes that the now-iconic photo of Trump post-attempt will cement his exalted status to those who already support him, but won’t sway any opinions in the long run. “The image of a bloodied Trump with fist thrust upward will resonate positively with voters who were already in his camp,” Dr. Young tells SheKnows. “I doubt it will have much impact on voters who view Trump as a legitimate threat to democracy and would never cast a ballot for him.”

When it comes to casting ballots, our new voters expressed major concerns, seemingly reflecting Gen Z’s overall attitude to voting; according to data from a CNN poll, just 37 percent of voters ages 18-37 said they were satisfied with the presidential candidates, and this was at the end of April, prior to the first debate and the assassination attempt. Our panel overwhelmingly felt like their choice was to vote for “the lesser evil.”

“What I’m hearing from my generation, or my peers, is that people aren’t going to vote at all because they’re not feeling satisfied or represented by either of the big options,” says Amelia.

Around 8 million Gen Z voters are newly eligible to vote this year, and by 2028, millennials and Gen Z will make up half of the electorate. A study from Berkeley University reveals that they largely feel betrayed by older generations for failing to tackle pressing issues and instead passing them on: “[T]hose tens of millions of young Americans face risks that older generations could scarcely imagine: extreme economic inequality, climate change and warp-speed technological change that is shaking political and economic stability in the U.S. and much of the world.”

It’s a tough situation for them to be in, this generation who holds the country’s future in their hands. The gravity of this particular election feels unprecedented, and for many, it feels like we’re treading on shaky ground.

Despite all this, the newest generation of voters are overwhelmingly (and surprisingly!) optimistic, with a Gallup poll reporting that 76 percent of Gen Z surveyed felt “they have a great future ahead of them.” The political landscape of late may be tumultuous and uncertain — but perhaps they’ll take these lemons and make lemonade. At least, as Amelia says in true Gen Z fashion, “The memes are really funny.”