Liberal Boomers crapping their Depends. Young people like the DOGE geeks and drawn to GOP

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CHICAGO (AP) — To those concerned about billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s access to sensitive government data, his tear-it-down band of young techies doing that work is an unregulated threat to privacy. The view on the right is much different.

Voices influential in conservative politics describe the crew of engineers, most of whom are in their early 20s, as among the world’s best minds sent to save the U.S. government from bureaucratic bloat.

It comes at a moment when young progressives have criticized the Democratic Party for sidelining them and as the party’s hold on younger voters is slipping, particularly among young men. Republicans are using the contrasting images as a marketing strategy.

Charlie Kirk, founder of the group Turning Point, which has organized voter turnout efforts for Republicans, called them “young prodigies” and “all-stars” with IQs that “would melt the charts”

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sparred with Hillary Clinton on Musk’s social media site X over the Trump administration’s actions and the plan to have DOGE help upgrade aviation safety.

“They have no relevant experience,” Clinton said in response to Duffy’s post about getting help from Musk’s team. “Most of them aren’t old enough to rent a car.”
Duffy responded sharply, saying, “We’re moving on without you because the American people want us to make America’s transportation system great again. And yes, we’re bringing the 22-year-olds with us.”

Republicans’ elevation of Musk’s engineers is a reflection of how they were able to chip away at the younger demographic in last year’s election.

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“Democrats have plenty of young people in consequential jobs,” said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. “They’re just not as good at letting us know about it.”

He said watching the DOGE engineers have a real world impact can be an important signal to young people. That could further hamper Democratic efforts to recruit a younger generation that already was questioning what the party had delivered for it.

“Republicans are seeing a weakness in Democrats through young people, and they’re taking advantage of it,” he said.

Basil Smikle, a Democratic political strategist and professor at Columbia University’s school of professional studies, said many disaffected young men in particular may see DOGE as evidence that they can have power. He urged Democratic leaders to step out of the way of young people and diversify their messengers.

“If you don’t, Republicans are going to go back to the same playbook and beat us every time,” he said.

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