The Democrats flipped the script on former President Donald Trump when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. No longer is Biden the oldest candidate ever to run for president — that distinction now belongs Trump.
Yet, most of the young, conservative and largely Christian voters at the Believers’ Summit at the Palm Beach Convention Center Friday night said they stand firmly behind Trump even if his age, 78, gives them some misgivings.
Trump was the keynote speaker at the conference held by the right-wing group Turning Point USA, honing his attack on the now presumptive Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. The Republican presidential nominee spoke at the event hours after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu short distance away at Mar-a-Lago.
Some hesitation about Trump’s age but still overwhelming support at Turning Point USA event
There are hesitations but not enough not to vote,” said Landon Coggins, 21, of Daytona Beach. “I’ve talked with a lot of younger people about a potential younger candidate in the future.”
He said he and his friends have found the last two weeks unsettling, starting with the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, the GOP Convention, Biden dropping out and the Democrats coalescing around Harris.
“I think the way that Donald Trump has been able to stand firm, even though it’s kind of uncharted waters, has been encouraging,” he said.
Coggins said he has not wavered in his support for Trump. However, a new Axio/Generation Lab poll found Harris solidifying the youth vote 60% to 40% — a seven point improvement over Biden.
Trump was in his element at the Turning Point conference that was in his Palm Beach backyard. He was in good humor speaking for about 70 minutes, cracking jokes and trotting out his usual stump speech claims — like about post-birth abortion — that Democrats and reproductive rights advocates have claimed are falsehoods and disinformation.
Evangelicals have been a foundation of his political support since his first presidential run in 2016. He delivered three U.S. Supreme Court Justices and got Roe v. Wade overturned.
“I will protect Christians in our schools and our military and our workplaces and our hospitals and our public square,” Trump told the adoring crowd.
But Justin Cyrenne, 19, from Chicago, said Trump’s age remains a major concern for him.
“I even think lately, a lot of his messaging, I’ve noticed, has been somewhat out of touch with the youth base,” Cyrenne said. “Trump is very popular with the Boomers, with people in the older generations. But I still think he’s going to win.”
Turning Point attendee: ‘Have you seen his golf game?”
Morgonn McMichael’s job with Turning Point is getting out the youth vote.
“Personally, I am not concerned with Donald Trump’s age,” said McMichael, 24, from Phoenix. “We are seeing a huge shift with younger voters, 18 to 24 are leaning conservative. High School boys are leaning conservative, and these are numbers that are in the polls that we haven’t really seen before.”
McMichael said for many Gen Z first-time voters the issue is the economy.
“Right now they are graduating from college. They’re unable to get a job, they’re unable to afford to have their own apartment in the cities where they want to live. They can’t really afford gas and groceries, they can’t afford to buy a house,” she said.
For other young voters at the conference, the conservative issues were far more important than any concern about Trump’s age.
Jayla Zimmerman, 31, from Fort Worth, Texas, said she feels Trump can install Christian values in schools. Jared Stanton, 25, of Wellington said his top issues were banning abortion and stopping gender-affirming care for trans youth.
Others interviewed said they were unfamiliar with Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, the Ohio firebrand who would ascend to the presidency if anything happened to Trump.
Trump did not mention Vance in his speech.
Zimmerman’s wife, Kendyl, 26, said she didn’t have any problem with Trump’s age. “Have you seen the video of him playing golf?” she asked.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: At Turning Point USA, conservative youths unconcerned about Trump age
