Donald Trump has perhaps one of the most vital speeches of his campaign in Denver this morning. He will try to reach out to conservatives once and for all at the Western Conservative Summit, an annual gathering that is the largest of its kind outside of Washington D.C.
After canceling his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March, Trump now has the chance to right his wrongs at a similar event and attempt to win over hundreds, if not thousands, of undecided conservatives.
Trump has had an extremely difficult time gaining support among millennials, in particular. Some polls have even suggested that Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is becoming a competitor with this demographic.
The Western Conservative Summit hosts countless young people every year. Hugh Hewitt’s Young Conservative Leadership Conference coincides with this event, and all attendees, ages 16- to 20-years-old attend the conference. Additionally, Turning Point USA features a relatively large delegation of young people at the event.
Although many of the students attending are either opposed to Trump or undecided, most of them were still interested in attending his speech. Sheldon Long, an incoming freshman at Colorado Christian University, said “I was a Rand Paul supporter at the start. Now, I’m torn, I’m not a fan of Trump, but the argument is that he might pick a good person for the Supreme Court, somebody who’s more conservative.”
Young people like Long, who are still undecided, will certainly be attentive during Trump’s speech in the hopes of being swayed one way or the other. Long said he’s hoping for “a little bit of maturity” from Trump today.
“This is kind of the make or break speech for me,” he said. “If he impresses me now, I’ll probably vote for him. Probably.”
This sentiment seemed to be shared by many of the other younger activists attending the Summit. Michael Gofman, an incoming student at University of California-Davis, said that although he has long been opposed to Trump, there is still a chance he could change his mind.
“Although at this time I believe myself to be ‘never Trump,’ I want to see him in person,” he said. “Oftentimes, what you see in person is different than what you see on television. So far, I find his rhetoric and his policy to be horrible. This is why I support of Gary Johnson, although I still have a small chance at changing.”
Clearly, Trump is facing an uphill battle. Today’s speech could be vital to the future of his campaign, or may further hinder his campaign, especially with millennials. With millennials already looking elsewhere in vast numbers, he may not be able to afford losing any further support amongst this group.
