Despite their aversion to Donald Trump, millennials will still vote for the Republican nominee, despite his failings.
The reasoning is simple: voters declare they can’t tolerate their nominee during the primary season, then settle when the decision is to support their party or see the loathsome rival party win the election.
It’s hard to believe millennials could vote for Donald Trump until it’s remembered who his Democratic competition is. Both have absurdly low favorability ratings. Were Trump running against anyone except Hillary Clinton, or vice versa, the problem might be bigger.
“Are young people actually turning to Trump?” Harry Cheadle wrote for Vice.
Yes, they will, but it will be more reluctance than enthusiasm.
The GOP has given up fighting against Trump. Their goal now is to co-opt him by making sure his “signature issues can be incorporated in a GOP platform in a way that permits party unity,” as Michael J. Lotus wrote for The Federalist.
The party has conquered its ideology. Republicans have chosen not to die on the hill of #NeverTrump. Instead, they’ll excuse Trump as they face the spectre of a Hillary Clinton presidency.
Trump has narrowed the millennial gap; Clinton still leads him, but “a sudden surge in his popularity among millennials,” as Cheadle noted, should concern the Democrats.
Democrats might overestimate the aversion millennials have toward Trump and underestimate their aversion toward Clinton.
“The silver lining for Clinton is that though many young people aren’t as excited about her as they are about Sanders, the argument that they should do everything they can to stop the thin-skinned, secretive, ignorant Trump is a fairly good one,” Cheadle wrote.
After the primary, Bernie Sanders supporters will warm up to Clinton to oppose Trump. However, the “Bernie or bust” crowd hasn’t resigned themselves to the fate of Clinton’s inevitability. Trump supporters, tapping into Clinton hatred and Sanders’ populism, have reached out to Sanders fans and explained why they should vote Trump. In a tight race, if populism overpowers partisanship, that could change the election.
Millennials still favor Democratic candidates. They still lean toward Hillary over Trump. However, they aren’t out of reach from the Republican candidate. If millennial Republicans accept their party affiliation over their ideological views, and Sanders supporters refuse to embrace Hillary, another millennial surge could take Trump to DC.
