BTS with Gen Z’s political power players
Aaron Parnas and CJ Pearson agree on more than you think.
Yesterday, I joined Gallup and the Kettering Foundation for a morning in D.C., centered around a central question: ‘Is Democracy Working?’ The event previewed a report that will be out in the coming weeks… so stay tuned.
As part of the programming, I moderated a panel with two of the top voices in Gen Z politics: Aaron Parnas and CJ Pearson.
has over 4.4 million TikTok followers and his Substack is the #1 bestselling “news” newsletter on the platform. CJ was the 2024 co-chair of the Republican National Committee’s youth advisory council, has over 300K followers on Instagram, 170K followers on TikTok, and has been credited with helping Republicans rebrand with young Americans. As part of that, he hosted high profile parties for MAGA youth with performances from Soulja Boy and Waka Flocka Flame.In a conversation about the future of democracy and whether or not it’s working for Gen Z, these are two of the most interesting men of the moment. Our discussion covered everything from the difference between content creators and journalists (they both agreed that there IS a difference, and CJ stressed the danger of posting content on social media, where there are no editorial standards), why Gen Z is done being gaslit by politicians who skirt around issues they can see unfolding in real time on social media (or in their own lives), and how Gen Z holds power accountable online. We continued our conversation backstage… here’s some more from BTS.
Paying subscribers can read our green-room conversation, below.
🔑 What You’ll Unlock: Highlights from this edition
What their audiences want
What they really think about credibility and trust
Their go-to news sources