_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
A new crop of conservative Generation Z voters — those born in 1997 and after — is pulling the Republican Party’s youth wing toward the hard right. This week, College Republicans of America tapped Kai Schwemmer, a close associate of white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes, as its new political director, drawing backlash from some conservatives.
At the same time, 31-year-old Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback is drawing large, heavily Gen Z crowds with an “America First” message that centers on immigration restriction, economic populism, and attacks on Israel and its supporters in the US.
_THE FACTS_
Kai Schwemmer has appeared in videos with Fuentes, once stating he supports Fuentes and "anyone who calls themselves a conservative should too" in a now-deleted post.
Schwemmer recently alleged that Boeing and Raytheon are led by Jewish Zionist executives who favor Israeli interests over American ones. Neither of the top leadership at these companies is Jewish.
A December survey from the right-leaning Manhattan Institute found that 31 percent of Republicans under 50 identify their own views as racist, and 25 percent say their views are antisemitic, compared to just 4 percent for each among those over 50.
The same survey showed a majority of Republican men under 50 think the Holocaust either didn't happen or was exaggerated.
Black and Hispanic young Republicans are overwhelmingly likely to deny the Holocaust and believe various conspiracy theories, compared to only 30 percent of white conservatives.
He has won praise from Nick Fuentes, who called him "really smart" and lauded his social media savvy.
Fishback claims he turned down a $500,000 donation that required him to disavow Fuentes supporters, saying, "I will never disavow patriotic Americans."
_OUR TAKE_
Gen Z on both the Left and Right often attributes their radical politics to economic hardships handed to them by the older generations. Homeownership for young Americans has become a distant aspiration; rent often consumes more of their income than for their older cohorts, while property values remain out of reach.
Radicalized young right-wingers also claim to be witnessing Congress funnel resources to foreign countries like Israel while doing little for ordinary Americans. In reality, the US sends a relatively small amount of money to Israel, around $3.8 billion per year, though this increased to $12 billion post-October 7 massacre before coming back down. For reference, the Pentagon’s budget in a single year is around $850 billion.
This is not to dismiss the concerns of disaffected young people, but to recognize that underlying economic and social factors must be addressed rather than necessarily written off as ignorance or bigotry.
