It is no secret; the American public has a lot of negative feelings about both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both of the major parties’ nominees this cycle have net favorability numbers well into the negatives — something that is absolutely unprecedented.
Those numbers are multiplied even further when examining the preferences of millennial voters. According to the Harvard University Institute of Politics, 53 percent of young people view former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unfavorably, while only 37 percent have a positive view of her. Meanwhile, billionaire business mogul Donald Trump shared the same positive numbers as Mrs. Clinton, while having an unfavorable rating four points below hers.
With so much negativity surrounding both of the presumptive nominees, how will the large block of millennial voters who currently support Sen. Bernie Sanders vote in the general election? Will they stick with the Democratic Party and support Clinton if/when she is eventually chosen as the nominee? Or will they be more willing to get behind Trump — a political outsider with a similar campaign message?
Young people are looking for an anti-establishment, anti-politician, anti-authority voice — can Trump take advantage of that?
Is it possible that young people would go from one of the most anti-establishment politicians, Bernie Sanders, to the epitome of establishment, Hillary Clinton? Doubtful. Young people, even more than the American public, see right through Clinton’s lies and empty rhetoric. They see her as a pandering politician who will do anything she possibly can to get elected. This is exactly the opposite of what young people want.
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk recently spoke out about the rise of Donald Trump, and why it should not have been a surprise.
“…the political ruling establishment was so out of touch with the American people a ‘Candidate Smith’ could come along and spark a wildfire that could change American politics forever,” Kirk wrote, citing polling of the political landscape going into 2016.
Similarly, last October Patrick Healy penned an article for the New York Times evaluating the rise of anti-establishment candidates from both sides. It is glaringly obvious that both Republicans and Democrats are fed up.
Despite the once vast #NeverTrump movement within the Republican Party, much of that rhetoric has slowed, and several key figures who were not willing to back Trump in the past are willing to support him now.
Just last week, one of the earliest and most frequent critics of Trump, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced that he would back Trump as the nominee. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also said he would support Trump, despite his previous endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz. This week, Trump is meeting with more GOP leaders in the House and Senate as they consider whether to endorse him.
A recent YouGov poll revealed at least 15 percent of Sanders’ supporters would support Trump when their candidate is forced to exit the race. It is doubtful that all these radical anti-establishment college students would be willing to back the most glaring example of a career politician our system could produce. But, with the continued unpopularity of the two leading candidates, it is still anybody’s guess.
