Guest MINDSETTERS™ Craffey, Halloran, Hennessy: Millennial’s & Donald Trump
Saturday, April 02, 2016
There are 218,959,000 people in the United States who are eligible to vote. Over half of the eligible voters fall within the millennial generation (ages 18-30) and historically have showed up to cast their vote far less than their baby boomer counterparts. This coming election has riled the voices of the millennial population in a way that previous elections have not. An important figure in the millennial conversation is Donald Trump. To win the general election Trump will have to gain the support of the millennial population. So the question is: can he do it? This generation is the most liberal, yet racially motivated acts are rampant on college campuses. Incidents at colleges throughout the country personify Trump’s bigoted views within this demographic, but do the students go as far as supporting Donald Trump’s candidacy?
No, they do not. In an independent survey recently conducted by Providence College undergraduates it was found that the majority of young adults said that they would not vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming election. In fact, over 59% of the individuals surveyed said that they did not support Donald Trump in becoming our next President. Of those surveyed, over 88% identified themselves as being “white.” There has been a recent rise in racial tension among college communities across the country. Almost all college students fall within the millennial generation and age range of 18-30. Because of this recent racial tension - and the questionable racial views that Donald Trump holds - one would think that the millennial generation would tend to lean in favor of Trump. This, however, does not seem to be the case. In a college area such as the northeast (88% surveyed were from the northeast) where racist behavior has been under investigation at Providence College, Fairfield University, and Yale University and racial change on campuses has been in heavy demand by African American students, it was found that white college students did not want Trump’s racist behavior to be at the forefront of our country. Some of the explanations for their reasoning were quite overwhelming, saying: “racist, idiotic, ignorant, and reactionary” by one poll taker and “Trump is a pompous, sexist, racist that will cause a lot of issues that are unnecessary if elected” by another.
Yet Trump is still ahead of the other republican candidates (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich) in the polls. Historically, this could be attributed to millennials not casting their votes in the same numbers that their parents and grandparents are. By not casting their vote, so the story goes, millennial are allowing the baby boomers to vote Trump into office. But millennials are voting- just not for any of the republican candidates. Instead, they are voting for the democratic ones. Millennials have recently surpassed baby boomers as the generation with the most individuals eligible to vote - making millennials the core of the electorate - and the Republican Party has largely been ignoring them. The socially conservative and oftentimes extreme views of the Republican Party as a whole do not appeal to the younger generation, who have are much more inclusive of other races, religions, genders, and sexual orientations.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFor this election in particular politics have been a show business, and Trump has been putting on the best show in town. Trump has dominated social media and has transformed the Republican debates into something that resembles reality television. For a generation that grew up with iPhones in our hands and our eyes glued to social media sites, one would think Millennials would be seduced by Trumps fame and antics. However, millennials are not buying into the shenanigans of Trump’s showmanship. Trump promises to “make America great again”, but millennials are looking past his grandeur and empty promises. Although deemed superficial and vapid, millennials are too wise to fall for the New York billionaire’s overly confident charade. Instead of being enticed by his headlining quotes and his well-groomed hair, they are looking at the real issues at hand. His questionable stance on immigration — calling for a ban on Muslims and calling Mexicans rapists – and foreign policy are cause for alarm. This type of behavior is not being tolerated by millennials who are unwilling to support his ignorance and hatred.
For the 2016 presidential election millennials will have to do more than just say that they don’t want Trump to win. They will have to show up at the polls and cast their vote. This election might be one of the most important for the future of our country, so we need to rise to the occasion and keep America great - for our own sake and for the sake of future generations.
Sean and Mark are both senior business management majors and Felicia is a sophomore biology major on a pre-dental track. All three attend Providence College
Related Slideshow: Presidential Candidate’s Social Media - 2016
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