President Trump achieved his successful political comeback in November due to his strong outreach to youth voters in modern ways no candidate had ever tried before.
After the recent special elections in Florida and Wisconsin, our party needs a wakeup call. Young people are trending our way, but the GOP needs a game plan to lock in Gen Z for 2026. Recent exit polls tell the story: 18-29-year-olds in Wisconsin split 48% GOP, 49% Dem—up from 36% GOP in 2020, which is huge, but not enough. Nationally, 46% of Gen Z backed Trump in 2024, a 10-point jump from 2020, driven by young men. Young women, though, leaned left, especially on abortion, with Planned Parenthood’s Wisconsin case firing them up. We held the House at 218 seats, but it’s a wake-up call. So, how does the GOP win Gen Z in 2026? Not taking our foot off the gas of our historically successful youth voter outreach.
Here are three ideas for the President and his team as he settles in to the White House: First of all, there was a noticeable vibe shift over the summer in the race when Trump started joining popular podcasts across all genres for in-depth conversations up to three hours. It was real, relatable, and authentic and first-time voters loved it. Instead of the traditional cable sit-down interviews which would average a few million views at most, these conversations were averaging tens-of-millions and hundreds-of-millions of views every single time, and the audience was different than cable. Young Americans can barely afford eggs; they’re not concerned with a cable bill. That’s why streaming has seen an increase. Trump has met youth voters where they are, and it’s worked.
But just because he’s moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he shouldn’t stop. Rather, the 47th President should host a monthly podcast from the White House to get his message out directly to the American people, by passing traditional media in a modern format. He only has to sit-down once a month, taking at max 30 minutes. It could be a modern-day FDR fireside chat.
Next, the President should continue to work with independent creators. The RNC launched a first-of-its-kind “Creator Program” during the primary debates and convention to credential over 100 social media influencers. This allowed them all-access to give their millions of followers a front-row seat to historic democracy in action. Now, Trump should re-enact Sean Spicer’s projectfrom when he was Press Secretary to credential podcast hosts, creators, and independent journalists to allow them to ask questions during press briefings and attend White House events. Karoline Leavitt’s new media seat is a huge step in the right direction, let’s just hope it expands from one seat to many.
Finally, Trump should not let his viral TikTok account go dormant. A week after he started his account, he had the fastest growing TikTok account in the platform’s history. His ability to reach millions of Americans on the app shouldn’t go to waste. He should continue to post behind-the-scenes videos and policy explanations on the platform for the next generation of Americans!
President Trump’s success with youth voters wasn’t a fluke or anomaly. He worked hard for it, and my peers want to continue to see and interact with him. Hosting a White House podcast, partnering with their favorite influencers in the briefing room, and TikToking from the Oval Office is how he retains these new Republican voters in our party for generations to come and brings in new ones.
Brilyn Hollyhand is an eighteen-year-old political commentator, Chairman of the Republican
National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council, and bestselling author of “One Generation Away: Why Now is the Time to Restore American Freedom.”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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