Monica and Ross are Jewish and Harris received 70% to 80% of the Jewish vote. Plus they live in New York and Ross is a Man of Science so I am confident they would have voted for Harris. (I can't believe I wrote this comment.)
Lots of information I wasn’t aware of. Not sure who will benefit from this choice for president except the man and his cronies. Well, at least I don’t have to worry that the seniors, of which I am a member, did this. Whew, lots of guilt off my shoulders.
“Our generation's probably the worst since - the Protestant Reformation. It's barbaric, but a barbarism even worse than the old-fashioned, straightforward kind. Now barbarism is cloaked with all sorts of self-righteousness and moral superiority.”
I'm disappointed in Gen x. I hoped our alternative music would have bigger impact. Great article, Will. I always enjoy your insights. I cannot understand how the people buying all the Hamilton seats are now supporting the current GOP. Perhaps Gen X-ers just don't have a firsthand knowledge of what things were like in past decades and conservative media is filling that void with misinformation.
Great article. I’m on the cusp. Born a few months later and I’m a millennial. My parents were from the Silent Generation (1942 and 1945). I was their only kid. My parents hated each other but didn’t divorce. My father was an ugly abusive alcoholic. My mother had affairs. I was a latchkey kid.
On the flip, they were both big tech heads. We had the latest and greatest. Every gaming system and gadget as they released. They spoiled me out of guilt.
Contrast that with a friend of mine who is thirteen years older than me. They are not tech savvy, don’t like video games, and are angry at the world for reasons. When I was in kindergarten, she was a freshman in college. That matters, especially during the GenX generation, when everything was changing at such a rapid pace. While I was using a computer and playing Atari when I was four (I have the pics LOL), she was just learning how to use a PC as an eighteen year old. Today, I work as a programmer in marketing and I’m still a gamer. She spends most of her time on Facebook and X. I’m here and on Bluesky. She listened to Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones. She watches Fox News and Newsmax. I primarily get my news from Medias Touch and listen to podcasts. I’m registered as an NPA. She is a Republican. She voted for Trump three times. We don’t talk politics. It’s better that way. It doesn’t surprise me that GenX has tilted toward Trump. I was at Woodstock ‘99. The documentaries only scraped the surface of what it was like. So many of the people that were there became the MAGA movement. Wouldn’t surprise me if many of them were involved in J6.
I'm at the older end of the cohort, born during the Summer of Love. Which means I have no illusions about GenX. Bloom County had it right when it ran a series where college kids storm the business school to show fealty to (spit) Reagan. Risky Business I think is the relevant cultural depiction here. And even the '80s Deadheads were largely "libertarians."
Rather than look at this through the lens of generational stereotypes (I agree that 64 year olds (born in the Eisenhower administration!) are boomers, not Gen X), my view is that Harris and the Dems didn't really offer anything for the 45-64s. We are the group most affected by the economy (we are working), healthcare (we get sick but are not covered by Medicare), etc.. I have a good job and good healthcare so for me, the complete unfitness of Trump for office was more than enough to not vote for him. That said, I can see how others in my age cohort (especially those without good jobs and good healthcare) could desert the Democrats.
I understand this, like I understand a lot of criticism of the Democrats how they got to this point. I still do not understand any serious argument that thinks Trump (and the Republican party as currently constituted) in any way addresses any of those things in any better, or even coherent, manner.
It absolutely did not feel good to realize I share a generation with Ted Cruz...not sure what generation I thought he was in. I suppose his awfulness seemed timeless.
My view: this election (and essentially every post-Bush Presidential election) was driven by anti-establishment fervor. Trump is the essence of anti-establishment political thinking, despite his status as a billionaire. And Gen-X has always struck me as an anti-establishment generation, making them uniquely susceptible.
In defense of my own generation, a couple of notes:
1. We're the first generation since at least the Greatest Generation to break the "when you get older and make more money you'll become conservative" mold: https://twitter.com/SawyerHackett/status/1855950501847724444. I attribute this to, like, everything that's happened since 2001, and the notion that growing up with the internet steeled us to its worst impulses.
2. Just a pet peeve: when folks like Carney talk about a drop in the birth rate, what they're really talking about is a drop in teenage pregnancies. The delta in teenage pregnances from 2000 to 2024 represents around 90% of the overall drop in births. Anytime someone expresses concern over the birth rate, just know they're talking about teenagers, whether they realize it or not.
To clarify, and make sure I've got my numbers right, I'm referring to total births, but I'm not 100% sure about birth *rate* specifically. 4.06 million births in 2000 vs 3.67 million in 2022; 475k teenage births in 2000 vs 144k in 2022. So a total drop of ~390k; a teenage drop of 331k. 85% of the drop is from teens.
Will, I’m deeply fascinated by this idea and your analysis. There’s a lot to unpack and consider.
First off, I’m 44 years old. I don’t identify as either Gen X (in my mind they’re a bit older than me) or Millenial (a bit younger than me). I consider myself part of that bridge sub-cohort, the “Xennials.” (AKA the Oregon Trail Generation) I was there for grunge, the slacker ethos, etc. It informed my musical tastes and sense of humor, but I was not quite 14 when Cobain was shot, and by the time I started college in 1997, the culture was starting to move on. Doing nothing wasn’t a career option for me - not that it sounded interesting, anyway. I voted for Harris, and aside from a regrettable decision to vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 when I was 20, I have voted Democrat in every national and local election since.
That out of the way, I can very much see Trump voting as a logical extension of the slacker-nihilist strain of Gen X. But I have a much harder time seeing the hypersensitive-bullshit-detector strain of Gen X going for him. Trump is a phony and wasn’t that the whole thing about Gen X, that they were supposed to be experts at sniffing out and rejecting fakes? Was all of that simply what marketers and think piece writers wanted us to believe? Maybe it’s all as simple as many people get more conservative the older they get, and now it’s Gen X’s turn. But then, why the slight edge for Harris in the boomer cohort? Maybe they have clearer memories of Nixon, Watergate, etc?
It’s an interesting point that Gen X is now at the age where they’re in the second halves of their careers, with families to support, and possibly kids in college. Perhaps they’re more willing to prioritize economic concerns over anything else. But once again, my brain is struggling to square those concerns with what I presumed Gen X excelled at - namely seeing through BS. Surely they’d be able to see that Trump is great at offering solutions that might “feel good,” but don’t really have much substance behind them? But maybe the latchkey generation is vulnerable to those vibes vs. reality because they’re secretly hoping someone is just going to tell them it’s all going to be OK, regardless of how it happens? But who knows. I’m just thinking out loud here.
Last but not least, I peg Monica and Ross as Harris voters, for sure. I can see aging Chandler and Joey voting for Trump. Rachel probably wavered but went for Harris at the last minute. Phoebe didn’t vote for president, or voted third party. That’s just my gut feeling, anyway.
> Wasn’t that the whole thing about Gen X, that they were supposed to be experts at sniffing out and rejecting fakes?
I think the internet really ruined this, to be honest. Gen X was probably good at sniffing out fakes in the 90s, but they were as susceptible to social media and internet shenanigans as anyone, aside from (IMO) Millenials, who came of age as the internet itself did.
Someone was pointing out the other day how conspiratorial thinking used to be much more of a left thing than a right thing (Art Bell, the "Loose Change" movie).
Monica and Ross are Jewish and Harris received 70% to 80% of the Jewish vote. Plus they live in New York and Ross is a Man of Science so I am confident they would have voted for Harris. (I can't believe I wrote this comment.)
The paleontologist aspect of it *very* much almost swayed me. I'm sure about Chandler, though.
A high percentage of people threatening school board members seem to be Gen Xers. This tracks.
Awesome dissecting of Generation x Will
Lots of information I wasn’t aware of. Not sure who will benefit from this choice for president except the man and his cronies. Well, at least I don’t have to worry that the seniors, of which I am a member, did this. Whew, lots of guilt off my shoulders.
I blasted the latest Jack White album on Election Day and have continued to listen to it a lot since. It’s absolutely the right music for this time.
“Our generation's probably the worst since - the Protestant Reformation. It's barbaric, but a barbarism even worse than the old-fashioned, straightforward kind. Now barbarism is cloaked with all sorts of self-righteousness and moral superiority.”
Whit Stillman, Metropolitan
I love that movie
As a boomer who stills votes Democratic, I'll note that Trump himself is technically a boomer. Which depresses the hell out of me.
I'm disappointed in Gen x. I hoped our alternative music would have bigger impact. Great article, Will. I always enjoy your insights. I cannot understand how the people buying all the Hamilton seats are now supporting the current GOP. Perhaps Gen X-ers just don't have a firsthand knowledge of what things were like in past decades and conservative media is filling that void with misinformation.
I think there is definitely something to this. But I dunno about the Hamilton crossover. That seems reliably Democratic (in ways good and bad).
Great article. I’m on the cusp. Born a few months later and I’m a millennial. My parents were from the Silent Generation (1942 and 1945). I was their only kid. My parents hated each other but didn’t divorce. My father was an ugly abusive alcoholic. My mother had affairs. I was a latchkey kid.
On the flip, they were both big tech heads. We had the latest and greatest. Every gaming system and gadget as they released. They spoiled me out of guilt.
Contrast that with a friend of mine who is thirteen years older than me. They are not tech savvy, don’t like video games, and are angry at the world for reasons. When I was in kindergarten, she was a freshman in college. That matters, especially during the GenX generation, when everything was changing at such a rapid pace. While I was using a computer and playing Atari when I was four (I have the pics LOL), she was just learning how to use a PC as an eighteen year old. Today, I work as a programmer in marketing and I’m still a gamer. She spends most of her time on Facebook and X. I’m here and on Bluesky. She listened to Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones. She watches Fox News and Newsmax. I primarily get my news from Medias Touch and listen to podcasts. I’m registered as an NPA. She is a Republican. She voted for Trump three times. We don’t talk politics. It’s better that way. It doesn’t surprise me that GenX has tilted toward Trump. I was at Woodstock ‘99. The documentaries only scraped the surface of what it was like. So many of the people that were there became the MAGA movement. Wouldn’t surprise me if many of them were involved in J6.
Lloyd Dobler aging into a do-your-own-research guy. DYING!
I know. And kickboxing as the sport of the future. ❤️ ha!
Imagine all the bruises….
I'm at the older end of the cohort, born during the Summer of Love. Which means I have no illusions about GenX. Bloom County had it right when it ran a series where college kids storm the business school to show fealty to (spit) Reagan. Risky Business I think is the relevant cultural depiction here. And even the '80s Deadheads were largely "libertarians."
Rather than look at this through the lens of generational stereotypes (I agree that 64 year olds (born in the Eisenhower administration!) are boomers, not Gen X), my view is that Harris and the Dems didn't really offer anything for the 45-64s. We are the group most affected by the economy (we are working), healthcare (we get sick but are not covered by Medicare), etc.. I have a good job and good healthcare so for me, the complete unfitness of Trump for office was more than enough to not vote for him. That said, I can see how others in my age cohort (especially those without good jobs and good healthcare) could desert the Democrats.
I understand this, like I understand a lot of criticism of the Democrats how they got to this point. I still do not understand any serious argument that thinks Trump (and the Republican party as currently constituted) in any way addresses any of those things in any better, or even coherent, manner.
I think a lot of guys won’t vote for a female for President , period, end of story. Sad.
It absolutely did not feel good to realize I share a generation with Ted Cruz...not sure what generation I thought he was in. I suppose his awfulness seemed timeless.
He also apparently has a deep Simpsons knowledge too, which is bothersome.
Oh, no… very distressing
My view: this election (and essentially every post-Bush Presidential election) was driven by anti-establishment fervor. Trump is the essence of anti-establishment political thinking, despite his status as a billionaire. And Gen-X has always struck me as an anti-establishment generation, making them uniquely susceptible.
In defense of my own generation, a couple of notes:
1. We're the first generation since at least the Greatest Generation to break the "when you get older and make more money you'll become conservative" mold: https://twitter.com/SawyerHackett/status/1855950501847724444. I attribute this to, like, everything that's happened since 2001, and the notion that growing up with the internet steeled us to its worst impulses.
2. Just a pet peeve: when folks like Carney talk about a drop in the birth rate, what they're really talking about is a drop in teenage pregnancies. The delta in teenage pregnances from 2000 to 2024 represents around 90% of the overall drop in births. Anytime someone expresses concern over the birth rate, just know they're talking about teenagers, whether they realize it or not.
I had not realized that about the birth rate. That's a terrific observation I will keep in mind moving forward.
To clarify, and make sure I've got my numbers right, I'm referring to total births, but I'm not 100% sure about birth *rate* specifically. 4.06 million births in 2000 vs 3.67 million in 2022; 475k teenage births in 2000 vs 144k in 2022. So a total drop of ~390k; a teenage drop of 331k. 85% of the drop is from teens.
" I am attaching universality where universality is not there. That’s another thing Gen-X people tend to do." Man, are you right about that.
I bet I keep doing it anyway.
Will, I’m deeply fascinated by this idea and your analysis. There’s a lot to unpack and consider.
First off, I’m 44 years old. I don’t identify as either Gen X (in my mind they’re a bit older than me) or Millenial (a bit younger than me). I consider myself part of that bridge sub-cohort, the “Xennials.” (AKA the Oregon Trail Generation) I was there for grunge, the slacker ethos, etc. It informed my musical tastes and sense of humor, but I was not quite 14 when Cobain was shot, and by the time I started college in 1997, the culture was starting to move on. Doing nothing wasn’t a career option for me - not that it sounded interesting, anyway. I voted for Harris, and aside from a regrettable decision to vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 when I was 20, I have voted Democrat in every national and local election since.
That out of the way, I can very much see Trump voting as a logical extension of the slacker-nihilist strain of Gen X. But I have a much harder time seeing the hypersensitive-bullshit-detector strain of Gen X going for him. Trump is a phony and wasn’t that the whole thing about Gen X, that they were supposed to be experts at sniffing out and rejecting fakes? Was all of that simply what marketers and think piece writers wanted us to believe? Maybe it’s all as simple as many people get more conservative the older they get, and now it’s Gen X’s turn. But then, why the slight edge for Harris in the boomer cohort? Maybe they have clearer memories of Nixon, Watergate, etc?
It’s an interesting point that Gen X is now at the age where they’re in the second halves of their careers, with families to support, and possibly kids in college. Perhaps they’re more willing to prioritize economic concerns over anything else. But once again, my brain is struggling to square those concerns with what I presumed Gen X excelled at - namely seeing through BS. Surely they’d be able to see that Trump is great at offering solutions that might “feel good,” but don’t really have much substance behind them? But maybe the latchkey generation is vulnerable to those vibes vs. reality because they’re secretly hoping someone is just going to tell them it’s all going to be OK, regardless of how it happens? But who knows. I’m just thinking out loud here.
Last but not least, I peg Monica and Ross as Harris voters, for sure. I can see aging Chandler and Joey voting for Trump. Rachel probably wavered but went for Harris at the last minute. Phoebe didn’t vote for president, or voted third party. That’s just my gut feeling, anyway.
> Wasn’t that the whole thing about Gen X, that they were supposed to be experts at sniffing out and rejecting fakes?
I think the internet really ruined this, to be honest. Gen X was probably good at sniffing out fakes in the 90s, but they were as susceptible to social media and internet shenanigans as anyone, aside from (IMO) Millenials, who came of age as the internet itself did.
Someone was pointing out the other day how conspiratorial thinking used to be much more of a left thing than a right thing (Art Bell, the "Loose Change" movie).