The Left is in an uproar. They don’t know how to make sense of their election loss.
And they made a fatal mistake that plays right into Trump’s hands.
A group of Gen Z voters voiced their frustration with what they see as “corrupted” mainstream media bias against President-elect Donald Trump, saying it impacted the recent election.
In a focus group with The New York Times, 13 undecided young voters shared their thoughts post-election. While most had supported President Biden in 2020 or weren’t old enough to vote then, now over half revealed they had cast their votes for Trump this time around, with only two backing the vice president.
For many, media bias was a decisive factor.
Joseph, a former Biden supporter from South Carolina, 24, said, “The mainstream media was carrying Kamala Harris’s water. We need a check on the president to have a healthy democracy. If Kamala Harris was elected, there wouldn’t be a check on her from the media.”
Abigail, 23, also a former Biden voter from Virginia, remarked, “I saw how the media has become so corrupted in their cause against Trump. There was that Trump clip of him saying: Put Cheney in front of a bunch of shooters. But he wasn’t actually implying Cheney should be shot. I cannot vote for an establishment that just thinks it’s OK to lie to us.”
George, a college student from Georgia, 21, shared his frustration over misleading stories about Trump, saying, “Seeing The Washington Post’s reaction to them not endorsing a candidate — people resigning — it’s hell on Earth over there. And The New York Times is just clearly biased. Everyone is just so not fair to Trump.”
For Lillian, 27, a 2020 Trump supporter from Virginia, the “meltdown” the media had over Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally cemented her decision to vote for him again.
Jack, a 22-year-old former Biden voter from New York, noted the media’s “double standard” with Trump versus Harris. “We saw it with the ‘garbage’ comment by Biden. That was kind of just glossed over. Seeing people on MSNBC and even The Times, unfortunately, saying Kamala ran a flawless campaign. Maybe it’s because Trump actually had substance and Kamala just ran on joy.”
Mark, a 24-year-old California voter who also supported Biden in 2020, added, “They go after Trump and never went after Kamala. They have their own biases. And they let it seep into their coverage of the election.”
Several voters applauded Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance for connecting directly with audiences. One mentioned voting for Trump after watching Vance’s interview with The New York Times, while others cited Trump’s appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience as a pivotal moment.
Joseph said, “The Joe Rogan interview was huge for me. Trump enthusiastically said yes to a three-hour, open, honest conversation with Joe Rogan, who was a former Bernie bro. I think it’s very telling about which candidate is authentic and which candidate is not.”
Lillian suggested that Trump and Vance keep up these direct media appearances, calling it a “cool way to check in and give a progress update.”
In contrast, some criticized Harris for her few media appearances, and when she did appear, it seemed to hurt her. One voter decided to go with Trump after seeing Harris on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
Laura, a 20-year-old intern from Maryland, said, “I was looking for a candidate that I felt I could trust. A key moment that stuck out to me was the ‘S.N.L.’ skit that Harris did, where she essentially made fun of herself. All her focus was going to entertainment industries and avoiding interviews. That came off to me as very phony.”
Laura, who ended up voting for a write-in candidate, added, “I didn’t like seeing Harris doing a lot of entertainment interviews and not focusing on actual interviews.”
Overall, many of these Gen Z voters expressed hope that, in future elections, there would be less bias from the media and a greater commitment to fairness.
“I hope that people take the mainstream media less seriously and do their own research to know what candidates actually believe,” Joseph said.
Abigail agreed, adding, “Yeah, I hope that in four years, the mainstream media wakes up and sees everybody is fine and stops calling Republicans fascists just because they disagree with them.”
Stay tuned to Prudent Politics.
