I am an 18-year-old Republican. When I attend Republican meetings in my county, I am often the youngest member by a margin 30 or 40 years. As a result, I always receive plenty of attention from the “adult” members; some wonder if I am a Bernie Sanders-loving imposter, while others tell me that they wish their grandchildren felt the same way.
Unfortunately, the absence of young conservatives in the political realm is not isolated to my county. Millennials are less likely to utilize their right to vote than any other age demographic; moreover, only 34 percent of millennials identify with or lean towards the Republican Party.
As someone who interacts with millennials on a daily basis, it’s not difficult to understand why millennials are leery to identify with the Republican Party and more importantly, Donald Trump.
First and foremost, the Republican brand is out of fashion. When young outsiders examine the Grand Old Party, the emphasis is placed on “Old.” Many millennials view the GOP (erroneously) as a group of elderly people possessing old-fashioned and outdated views.
Fortunately, the Republican Party is beginning to fight that narrative by welcoming young activists into their political processes. To offer a personal example, I will be accompanied by various other millennial delegates and alternate delegates to the RNC. While I cannot speak for the other delegates, my overarching goal in attending the convention in Cleveland is to inspire other young conservatives to become involved within the Republican Party.
The second and somewhat larger problem that the Republican Party faces is Donald Trump. Donald Trump “tells it like it is,” which has consequently turned off many of the hyper socially conscious millennials.
I can speak directly to this issue, because I am relentlessly criticized by my peers for supporting Donald Trump. After two months of rebutting their regurgitation of CNN and MSNBC every day, I finally understand the problem many millennials have with Donald Trump: Liberal media and social media outlets have created a persona of Donald Trump that is not in tune with reality.
