It turns out Gen Z voters on opposite ends of the political spectrum can agree on a few things — one being their general anxiety around the economy. In the newest installment of Politics IRL, David Buckley, a 20-year-old Republican, sat down with Clyve Lawrence, a 21-year-old progressive, to talk about the economy under both Donald Trump's and Joe Biden's presidencies.
Buckley is worried about the general direction of the economy. “I’m concerned definitely with what the future may look like if Biden gets re-elected, especially after graduating college,” he said. “There are companies that I think at this point are screwing the average American over.”
Lawrence recognized that many voters “feel like neoliberal policies of the 1990s and 2000s screwed them over.” But he also stressed “that doesn’t mean Trump himself is the right figure for addressing these issues.”
Buckley on the other hand, believes in Trump wholeheartedly and plans to vote for him in November.
“When we had someone like Donald Trump as president, the economy was at one point the best that it had ever been,” said Buckley.
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Lawrence, though anti-Trump, said he feels alienated by Biden and doesn’t plan on voting for him. He’s thinking of casting his vote for Cornel West, or Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia.
While they disagree on who to vote for, whether unions support Trump, and who is to blame for inflation, both young voters vehemently agreed on one thing.
“Republicans and Democrats are essentially a uniparty in many ways when it comes to protecting the interest of the owning class,” said Lawrence.
Buckley high-fived him in agreement.
