I’m a First-Time Voter & Here’s My Reaction to Tim Walz, JD Vance & How ‘Weird’ Politics is Right Now

In November, I will have the chance to vote in my first presidential election. It’s an exciting prospect, but I feel conflicted given the weirdness of the current state of politics. After the announcement of Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy, youth voter registration spiked dramatically and millions of Gen Z teens will be voting for the first time in November. As a member of Gen Z, I’ve seen the efforts of the Harris campaign to win over young voters via social media campaigns. And now, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on the ticket, he’s joining in too.

In the above video, I reacted to Walz’s “weird” line of attack against the Republican ticket, JD Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comments and more. As the 2024 Presidential race continues, it is the candidate’s social media efforts that may prove who does a better job at speaking to Gen Z. So, how are they doing so far?

It feels to me, post-Obama politics has been forced to evolve into a scrappier, less refined version of itself. Politicians are using social media to appeal to younger audiences, and appearing on Twitch streams to reach the youth vote. On one hand, I’m glad politics is adapting to appeal to teens and find avenues to speak to them directly. But on the other hand, such direct speaking feels targeted.

Politicians never appear tech-savvy, and usually their attempts to do so are out of touch. Recent social media campaigns such as Harris’ use of imagery from Charli XCX’s album Brat on TikTok (after Charli XCX officially declared her “Brat”) seem less disconnected. But already such campaigns are souring as a trend they took advantage of moves out of style.

In Trump’s collaboration with streamers like Adin Ross or Logan Paul as well, I see a similar tension between a more exciting, populist political environment and clearly manipulative campaign tactics.  

As much as Trump and Harris try to wield the massive energy of their youth voters, it’s also clear to me they don’t actually understand how to appeal to youth voters. Brat summer, for instance, which worked so well for the Harris campaign has recently claimed Walz as well, a pick intended to soothe middle aged, middle class white voters. Politicians are not so much commanding control of their Gen Z voters as they are tapping into trends of which they don’t really grasp. 

I admire the attempts to connect with youth, but it is impossible for a politician to truly tap into the zeitgeist— because politicians can never be cool.

As much as their youth staffed social media teams try, the closest a middle aged politician will feel to my generation is how their children describe brat summer to them. And even then, chances are they themselves don’t even understand it. To impact youth vote in a meaningful way, I recommend politicians share policies rather than trying to go viral. To win my vote in the upcoming election, I want to hear about what the future president is going to do about issues that threaten my future— like AI, climate change or gun control. Although, if it must be packaged into bite-sized pieces dressed in Brat green, that’s fine too.