Nalin Haley, the son of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, delivered a blunt warning to Republicans on Monday, accusing the party of overlooking the deep frustrations facing Gen Z voters.
According to Fox News, during an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Haley said the GOP has failed to acknowledge the economic realities young Americans are confronting every day.
“The first step our leaders need to do is admit that we have a problem. And right now I haven’t heard any Republican leaders talk about the issues that young people are facing,” he said.
Haley argued that members of Congress appear out of touch with a generation struggling to launch their careers and build stable lives.
“Congress has been nothing more than a glorified nursing home. They either don’t know the problems that we’re facing or they’re ignoring them. And to be honest, I don’t know which one’s worse,” he said.
The Gen Z activist pointed to a job market he described as stacked against young graduates. He said many students who followed the traditional path—college, degrees from strong universities, and high academic performance—are now finding themselves frozen out of opportunities.
“One-third of recent college graduates are unemployed,” he said.
He added that his own friends, despite earning “great degrees in great schools,” have been unable to find jobs.
“Not one of them has a job – not one. So it’s frustrating because they did everything that they were supposed to do. They put in the time, the effort, the money to get educated, and they don’t have a job to show for it. They have to compete with foreign workers who are willing to work for half their salary and AI, which is a supercomputer, so how can we compete with that?”
Haley then shifted to the housing market, which he said has pushed homeownership out of reach for many young adults.
As of December, the average first-time homebuyer in the U.S. is 40 years old, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
“Five years ago it was 33,” Haley noted.
He contrasted that with his parents’ experience, saying, “My parents bought their first house for $90,000 in the late 90s, and now it’s probably worth over $400,000, so we’re facing a lot of issues.”
To reduce the pressure on young workers, Haley called for a ban on H-1B visas, arguing that companies should prioritize hiring American citizens. He also pushed for changes to housing policy.
“I think that we need to stop subsidizing illegal immigrants for housing and instead maybe look into subsidizing Americans for first-time homebuyers for housing, and not allow corporations in the Chinese Communist Party to buy entire neighborhoods of single-family homes,” he said.
