Young voters weigh in on the 2024 election and if America is on the right track
Anastasia Esther, a 25-year-old living in Wisconsin, said the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency and what it could bring to the country is weighing on her every day until November.
Esther said she will vote for President Joe Biden, but said it could be characterized as more of a ballot cast against Trump than in enthusiastic support of the sitting president.
"My choice to vote for Joe Biden is moved by, unfortunately, mainly the fact that I see nobody else in the main election that I would feel comfortable with voting for," she said.
For decades, younger voters were a reliable part of the Democratic coalition, including in the 2020 election. But recent polls suggest Biden's wide advantage with Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 has diminished.
Esther, Dylan Liptack and Zeno Wilson -- all Gen Z voters -- sat down with "538 Politics" podcast host Galen Druke at Ma Fischer's diner on the east side of Milwaukee as the Republican National Convention took place to discuss their views on the 2024 election and the state of American politics.
Over the course of a half hour, the three discussed everything from Biden's age to the issues facing their generation and their outlook for the future.
On who they're voting for
Liptack, a college student, said he will be voting for Trump and is mainly motivated to do so by foreign policy. He said he views Biden's track record on that issue as "largely a failure."
"When I look at the state of the world right now, and how it was like four years ago, at least internationally, I'm very heavily motivated to kind of go back to the norm of how things were like four or five years ago," he said.
Wilson, also a college student, said he will be supporting Biden because of his "interest in keeping American values" like democracy, and that Trump's viewpoints don't resonate with him at all.
"I think that the biggest pro with Biden is we know that he has experience, he's been doing politics for some time, and I know that there is quite a bit of concern regarding his current faculties and its ability to actually serve as president. However, I think that with the experience that he has, and with the people, the good people that are backing him up, he has a solid chance of being able to run our country effectively," Wilson said.
Wilson said he was concerned about Biden's ability to appear in public, and Liptack said he thought Biden's stumbles and age gave America a "weak look."
Esther, also a Biden supporter, said she didn't have direct concerns about his faculties but that "unfortunately all the candidates are older than they should be for a 24-hour job.
"I agree Joe lacked energy at the debate. But I don't know that I really appreciate Trump's energy either, that riling up a crowd isn't inherently what I look for in a president," Esther.
On America's direction
Esther and Liptack both said they believe the country is moving in the wrong direction, while Wilson said he had some optimism.
"While we are in an age, to be completely frank, where it seems like everything is against us, however, I think that there are parts of our country that are going strong, they're heading in the right direction," Wilson said.
Esther said she believed the country was on the wrong track because of "dismantlement of our education system" that she fears has left children less educated.
"In the end, it harms all of us. We're not producing as many inventors or people who are going to push this country the way that I think the American initiative was to say we would," she said. "And I'm really frankly, depressed by that, because I want to live in that America that's trying, and what I see is an America that's fighting and not trying to get it back together again."
Liptack said one major reason he was feeling pessimistic about the future was because of the cost of living.
"This kind of idea of the American dream, where you kind of graduated college, you leave your parents' house and then you go buy a home or buy an apartment and live by yourself and pull yourself up by your bootstraps, it's very hard for people my age to achieve going forward," he said.
On the Israel-Hamas war
When asked about what other issues they feel strongly about, all three conversed about the conflict between Israel and Hamas unfolding in Gaza.
"I feel very strongly about the situation in the Middle East," said Esther. "I am Jewish, I have friends who have been involved over there. I have deep compassion for both sides. And I feel that both the Biden administration's response and the response I fear a Trump administration would have, neither I think has been or would be successful for resolving that."
Liptack said he was in the Middle East when the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas took place and that brought a unique viewpoint to the early part of the war.
"I found myself kind of agreeing more with how Biden initially responded but over time, as he's kind of changed his policies in the region, I've detached from supporting his agenda," he said.
Wilson said "abuses of human rights" in Gaza and elsewhere around the world are concerning for him, and said he thinks the U.S. could be doing more to help the people in Gaza.
Esther said she agreed.
"My personal perspective since Oct. 7 has been that the return of the hostages is one of if not the most pertinent issue," she said, adding she believed if hostages were returned, Israel wouldn't be making the "abhorrent militaristic decisions that it is that those are decisions made on a forced hand."
Liptack had a different view.
"I think the extrication of Hamas as a military and governing body in the Gaza Strip is well within both Israel and America's national interests," he said. "I think Israel as a kind of modern army has been going well and beyond to minimize human casualties."
On impact of the 2024 election
As a final question, each voter was asked if they think the election will impact their daily life.
Liptack said he would look forward to a Trump victory, and with it he hopes a "better economic situation."
"Yes," said Esther. "In my heart, I genuinely fear and I'll stand it up as this as a queer Jewish woman, I do fear that if Trump were to win that this country -- not even just because of Project 2025 or just because of things he would do in office -- but because of the temperature it would bring this country to, I don't know if I would be safe to continue even living in this country."
Wilson said its important for young people to vote.
"And if there is something that we're not fond of, if there's a change that needs to be made, we need to rally together as a generation and as a community to change that so that we can actually benefit ourselves, those around us and the generations to come," he said.
