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Vivek Ramaswamy called them the generation that will save America, but they're better known as Gen Z. They're tech-savvy, expressive, counter-cultural… and they get a bad rap.
While their role in "saving America" might depend on how you perceive the outcome of last week's election, Gen Z had a major hand in history, and President-elect Donald Trump can thank the age group's male voters for giving him an extra edge over Vice President Kamala Harris and aiding in his political comeback.
"Men are starting to wake up and stand up and say it is time for men to be men," Shane Winnings, YouTuber and CEO of the national men's ministry Promise Keepers, told Fox News Digital in an interview last week.
Winnings is one among many who have noticed the change in America's youngest male voting bloc, a change that aided in the red wave that washed over the U.S. in the 2024 election. He says their hunger for a strong, tenacious leader drove them to the ballot box for Trump.
TRUMP TAPS INTO GEN Z'S PULSE WITH HELP FROM SON BARRON, WHO TELLS HIM ABOUT HOTTEST TRENDS
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"Over the last few years especially, it's like someone has turned the dial up on masculinity, whether good or bad. You've got mostly the left that was demonizing masculinity and calling it toxic, and when I say masculinity, I'm thinking of basic things. I'm thinking of males that are assertive, aggressive and not unnecessarily or unhealthily aggressive, but just aggressive in nature. Men that are protectors and providers, and we've seen a tearing down of that," he said.
He later added on that note, "This narrative that the left is pushing [about men]… it's built into us. God created us to want to be like a man, so when you have a leader like Trump who is assertive, who is aggressive when he needs to be, who is outspoken, who does stand on conviction, that attracts people.
"You have a man who says, 'I'm going to strengthen our police, I'm going to strengthen our military, I'm going to protect Americans.' That speaks to the very heart of men, as opposed to the left."
Blue strongholds allowing biological men in women's sports, another hot topic during this year's election cycle, also played a role, he suggested.
"I think the contrast could not be more clear between the two parties," he said.
Guests listen as Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a Run Gen Z meeting at an Embassy Suites Hotel on January 6, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Numbers suggest a shift among Gen Z as a whole. Democrats have historically relied on at least 60% of the youth vote, but early exit polls suggested Harris came in at only 54% of youth support, NPR reported.
Some speculate the Israel-Hamas war could have played a factor in turning younger voters away from Democrats, particularly voters who are more progressive and have been vocally critical of the Biden-Harris approach to conflict in the Middle East.
Another possible culprit? Trump's approach to the group, who remains engrossed in podcasts like Joe Rogan's. Rogan endorsed the president-elect just a day before the election.
Winnings said a growing interest in getting the church engaged may have contributed, especially as indicators point to larger numbers of young men going to church than before.
"When I started preaching on TikTok in 2020, a lot of my following was young Gen Z males, and I was preaching just the Bible, and my account exploded, so I have seen firsthand the hunger for people looking for truth who believe that the Bible is the truth. When you have a candidate that says, 'God's the reason my life was spared, and we're going to be one nation under God again,' versus a candidate [Harris] that says, 'You're at the wrong rally' when someone says ‘Jesus is Lord, Christ is king’ again, you're polarizing these young men to say, 'Well, it's pretty obvious who I'm going to vote,'" he said.
"So I think the young men turning out for Trump is a direct relation to young men attending church more, and they're looking for a candidate who has the biblical views as close as possible, those conservative type views, and they spoke on November 5th. Now we see with Trump winning the White House, this is what the country wanted."
Prior to the election, Gen Z Republicans insisted Trump would rake in support from their peers.
Trump also made gains with other voting groups compared to 2020, including Hispanics and Blacks, and the outcome painted a sobering reality for Democrats.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
