Gen Z is the most politically divided generation. Here's what we know now about how that is impacting relationships with their peers.
Jared Shult flailed both arms during the first weekend of Coachella like the kind of inflatable figure that sits outside a used car lot in a small American town.
"Imagine hating on me when this is the vibe I'm on," he captioned an Instagram video post of his moves at the California music and arts festival on April 13. "Trump has more rhythm than you bro," one user commented. "Damn, that's a low blow," Shult, 22, replied with two crying emojis.
As Shult buoyed his reputation with over 500,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok, and X, a fellow influencer jabbed at the Trump administration.
One day earlier, the 23-year-old Harry Sisson, who boasts 3.9 million followers between Instagram, TikTok and X, posted that "JD Vance is on a generational losing streak. Keep it up JD!"
Shult and Sisson, two of the left's best-known young straight White men, are using a similar playbook to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, punching back at MAGA movement members with Trump's stinging style.
From different parts of the country, these influencers stoke online backlash and invite criticism from the right while charming casual fans and Democratic loyalists.
Sisson: 'Trump promised' young men things that aren't coming true
Based in New York and Texas, Shult and Sisson are helping the Democratic Party build support among Gen Z voters, laying the foundation one sassy post at a time.
Seton Hall professor Jess Rauchberg, who studies digital culture, said that "the larger attitudes" about young White men such as Shult and Sisson have shifted as Trump's second term enters its second year. Now, the Democratic Party is relying on figures like Newsom and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to help get messages across and relate to White men.
During the 2024 race, Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to captivate support among young White men. Meanwhile, Trump used male-centric podcasts during his candidacy to bolster his message about affordability and the economy among young men.
"Trump promised them these things and said, 'We're going to do this, we're going to make your dreams come true,'" Sisson told USA TODAY. But, he said, "none of it's coming true."
Sisson uses his own identity to confront what he views as Trump's failure to deliver on campaign promises. He antagonizes Trump acolytes in his content, offering snarky comments on headlines rather than reading the news.
Shult rage-baits Republicans daily. He mocked Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster who is married to Trump's immigration czar Stephen Miller, on X for her husband's appearance after she wrote online that "liberal men aren't attractive." He applauded lesbians, in an X post April 20: "Anyone who is against gay adoption has clearly never met a lesbian woman," it says. "Those are some of the coolest and most loving people I've ever met."
Shult and Sisson follow each other, posting gym photos flexing their physique, co-opting Republicans' ownership of masculinity. They also regularly jab Trump over his past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a topic that's a reliable irritant for the president. And conservative online commenters respond by calling them gay.
Narratives align the goals of Democrats with those of young White men
Public support for the president has waned among young voters, according to recent surveys. Yale University's spring Youth Poll, released mid-April, found that Trump has lost the most ground among women under 35 and men under 30. Young voters in the poll, except for men aged 18 to 22, shifted toward supporting Democrats.
In a February social media post, Shult shared a selfie on Instagram in which he dons camo, followed by photos with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a picture hoisting a "LIBERTY & JUSTICE 4 ALL" sign above his head and snaps with California Sen. Adam Schiff and potential 2028 presidential contender Pete Buttigieg.
Shult said he wants to curb the loneliness epidemic among young men and address their growing disillusionment by displaying masculine empathy. "I'm trying to find ways to just promote the idea that, 'Hey, you can be a guy, and you can also like lifting, you can go hunting, you can do normal shit, you can be a very masculine man,' but then also talk to your close friends about things you're dealing with, or go to therapy, or whatever it is," Shult said.
But part of Shult's appeal is that he could be a Republican. He wears camouflage and hunts deer despite living in lefty Austin. Shult is a fan of NASCAR. He fawns over the appearance of women like Kaitlan Collins. The primetime host of CNN's "The Source" is known for her chic style, blowouts and, of note, for rattling Trump since his first term in office.
It's unclear if the efforts from TikTok's liberal bros will make headway, according to University of Missouri-Kansas City political science professor Debra Leiter. Winning elections is primarily about voter turnout.
Leiter said disillusioned voters won't necessarily cross party lines. They'll simply stop participating in elections.
Rage-baiting Republicans
A Texas A&M alum, Shult is a self-described lover of the gym, the outdoors, and "side quests" (one-off adventures) as seen in his Instagram bio. His flow haircut mimics the style of some members of the U.S. men's hockey team, whom Shult said looked "bored" when they attended Trump's State of the Union on Feb. 26.
He grew up with happily married parents in affluent Frisco, Texas and started posting content as a high school sophomore. He later joined a Christian youth group that influenced his online content. Shult says he underwent a public deprogramming with his Christian faith during his freshman year of college.
He instead found faith in progressive politics.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Shult became involved with a group of other Christian creators in "the Praise House." The internet collective was a religious version of the short-lived Hype House, a secular consortium that turbocharged the careers of pop stars Addison Rae and "Ordinary" hitmaker Alex Warren.
Shult began reflecting on religion during his freshman year of college in December 2021. He felt at odds with traditional views of Christianity since he interpreted parts of the Bible as saying that "people who weren't Christian were evildoers," but recognized that non-religious people in his own life were still good people.
"If we're continuing to slander people, make mean comments, or be rude, people are not going to want what's within us," Shult said in a March 2021 video while he was still a member of Praise House. "I think especially when it comes to the political realm. We do a terrible job at expressing our opinions in a loving manner."
'Things have just dramatically changed'
Sisson, who knows Shult from online circles, found his way to viral lefty fame after forays into the digital world as a teen. In March 2020, a 17-year-old Sisson delivered a virtual TED talk addressed to Trump. In the video, he argues that Gen Z will consider climate policies when they vote. It foreshadowed his eventual online acclaim for a flurry of content he posted in support of former President Joe Biden during the 2020 race.
"You could go on social media and, you know, see what your friends are doing but also see a video of a dog, whatever, or cats," Sisson told USA TODAY in an interview last fall. "Now especially since Musk took over Twitter and then the Trump regime has come back in things have just dramatically changed."
Sisson was a liberal superstar during his time in college. He first enrolled at George Washington University before transferring to New York University which he still attends. He visited the White House and appeared on the cover of Town & Country magazine. He met with former President Barack Obama before the 2022 midterm elections. Sisson also sat down with Biden's secretary of State Anthony Blinken and interviewed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
He has been a frequent target of Trump's supporters. They mounted an unsuccessful online campaign last year urging ICE to deport him. (He was born in Singapore but is an American citizen.) In October Trump's official Truth Social account posted an AI-generated video depicting the president dumping sewage on protesters. Among the figures in the crowd was an image of Sisson at a "No Kings" rally.
Young men 'in a hurry'
On Feb. 24, Sisson moderated the New York City tour stop for Gov. Newsom, who was promoting his new memoir, "Young Man in a Hurry," a title that nods to the book's journey from Newsom's boyhood struggle with dyslexia to his West Coast political rise. Two months later, Shult basked in the April desert sun and danced to Justin Bieber's pared-back Coachella set as the pop star sat on a stool in front of a laptop perched on a table.
Shult later slammed Fox News as out of touch after the cable news network framed Bieber’s performance as controversial due to its stripped-down setting. This generation of young men seems to be searching for the same things in their lives underneath the surface of the masculinity debate.
Shult and Sisson and their Republican rivals. Sisson told USAT he's a basic dude that wants the life "that I envisioned when I was young." He likes going to the gym. "I want a robust debate again," he said. "I want to have a space in politics where we can make a change."
He wants to be successful with a family of his own and own a house "someplace, somewhere." Maybe most young men want that, too. Black or White, gay and straight, and yes, red or blue.