» A reformed progressive and brilliant young social media star who first came to prominence as the host of PragerU’s Unapologetic program, Amala Ekpunobi is a freedom-loving, anti- afirmative action crusader who refuses to apologize for her conservative values — especially her love of the U.S. Now an independent host on YouTube, Ekpunobi’s identity as a mixed-race female makes it tougher for the left to besmirch her.
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Amala Ekpunobi, 24, AMALA
» 2.37 million YouTube followers; 491K on Instagram
Instagram followers; 1.12 million YouTube subscribers » Sean Kelly personifies the authentic, dressed-down Gen Z vibe that pervades today’s social media. His podcast is ranked in the top three on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and features guests discussing cultural and political topics.
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critical, not only to spurring economic growth but also to staving off climate change and redressing social inequality. Under Biden, inflation
jumped by 22% and the fed- eral deficit soared. For young people planning to move out of their parents’ homes and launch their own careers, it was downright disastrous. A Bankrate survey report-
ed that seven in 10 parents are helping their adult kids stay afloat financially. Faced with sky-high costs of living, an estimated one-third of Gen Z adults are back home, living with their parents. “You’ve got this gen-
eration of young people,” Starbuck explains, “who feel like they can’t afford to get married, they can’t afford to
It comes as no surprise that heading into the election, 65% of Americans overall and 71% of young voters said the country was on the wrong track.
get a home, and they can’t afford to have kids.”
Anders chimes in, “I think
a lot of young people, and young men especially, they want autonomy. “They’re struggling to find
purpose. They don’t want to be handed everything in life, but they want to see a viable pathway in front of them that, while it may have a little bit of struggle, ends up with them having a fulfilling career and a family.” It comes as no surprise
that heading into the elec- tion, 65% of Americans over- all and 71% of young voters said the country was on the wrong track.
Channeling Musk Ask analysts what made Trump suddenly cool with younger voters and they point to one primary influ- ence: Elon Musk. “Elon Musk wears T-shirts and a jacket and carries his kid on his shoulders to Con- gress,” Towery observes. “These young guys look
at Elon and they say, ‘We like him. We don’t care what
Sean Kelly, 27, DIGITAL SOCIAL HOUR
PODCAST HOST » Reach: 11.5 million
SURGE IN YOUNG REPUBLICANS
million X followers; 3.14 million YouTube subscribers » The gravelly voiced Daily Wire podcaster embraces conservative issues with a take-no- prisoners blend of common sense and incisive intelligence. Matt Walsh is among the most frequently reposted influencers on X.
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Matt Walsh, 38, THE MATT WALSH SHOW
PODCAST » Reach: 3.5
other people think. He’s a bil- lionaire, he’s cool, he shoots off rockets, he hangs out with Donald Trump, he speaks his mind. We’re going to listen to what he has to say.’” Along with Trump’s ap-
pearances on podcasts and MMA events, Starbuck says Musk’s endorsement and support gave young people the “permission structure” they needed to openly em- brace Trump as their pre- ferred candidate. Musk’s bold support for
Trump, he adds, signaled that “you’re not crazy if you do see these problems.” If Musk can transfer that cachet with younger voters to his self-assigned mission as minister of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he may be able to make something else cool with Gen Z voters — reduc- tion of government spending and regulatory overreach that threaten to hamstring the private sector. Diogo Costa is president
of the libertarian Foundation for Economic Education, a group that reaches out to
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