Sunrise Movement asks President Joe Biden to 'pass the torch'

Watch this space. The suggestion could open the floodgates for youth groups and youth activists wary about the president's ability to energize young voters.

Photo by Igor Lepilin on Unsplash

Today the youth-led Sunrise Movement, a progressive climate group that worked to help elect President Joe Biden in 2020, called on him to “pass the torch to a new nominee.” The suggestion could open the floodgates for youth groups and youth activists wary about the president’s ability to energize young voters.

"After speaking with young people around the country over the last few weeks, I’m concerned that Joe Biden isn’t positioned to mobilize young people and win in November,” Sunrise Movement Executive Director Aru Shiney-Ajay told the New York Times and said in a statement just after the Times story published.

Though they initially endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2020, Sunrise ultimately got behind Biden and made inroads with his administration — championing key policies like the American Climate Corps.

Today, they’re singing a different tune, though Shiney-Ajay said that the reason the group is suggesting a new nominee is to “protect” Biden’s “climate legacy.”

👀 Watch this space. There could be plenty of other calls from leading youth groups like this to follow.

Yet, with their statement today, Sunrise ultimately said that “regardless of who the Democratic candidate is,” the group will work to turn out voters in favor of that candidate.

My guess is the same will be said from other left-leaning youth groups if they decide to make similar statements — as young voters continue to stress that they’re motivated by issues not candidates.

“To be very clear, regardless of who the Democratic candidate is, our plan is the same: to persuade young voters to turn out for the Democratic nominee in order to defeat Trump. With another ticket that energizes young volunteers, we could contact up to twice as many voters this fall,” Shiney-Ajay said in a statement.

‘I’d rather vote for Grandpa Democracy than Grandpa Dictator’

Post-debate for POLITICO Magazine, I spoke with Democratic creator Olivia Julianna, the 21-year-old political influencer, about how she’s trying to turn the tide for Biden online. Here’s some of what she told me:

Are you concerned about the way that the debate and its aftermath are playing out online?

OJ:

“I have actually been very surprised by what I am seeing on social media. I have not seen concern or really anti-Biden sentiment on my social media pages from normal people. I have only seen the concern and the ‘Biden can’t do this’ from the punditry circle and the Beltway. Even with normal people in my life, like I’ve messaged and texted with them, and I’m like, ‘Hey, how are you feeling?’ They’re kind of all like, ‘We knew Joe Biden was old, but I’d rather vote for Grandpa Democracy than Grandpa Dictator.’”

Why does Trump have a bigger following than Biden [on TikTok]?

OJ:

“Just look at the substance of his posts compared to the Biden HQ content. The Biden HQ content often is very policy-driven. It’s very policy- or issue-focused. At times it can be very intellectual, whereas Trump’s is just like, “I’m Donald Trump, and I’m at a UFC fight.” It’s just so simplistic in nature that it’s just easier to consume, and it moves faster because it’s so nonpolitical, consumable, almost normal TikTok content. If you were not tuned into politics at all, you had no idea who Donald Trump and Joe Biden were, and you were just a person on TikTok for the first time, and you saw that video of Trump with Dana White at the UFC fight, you would be like, ‘Who is this guy?’”

What are the biggest misconceptions about young people in general when it comes to this election?

OJ:

“There has been this narrative since, I want to say 2016, that the issues that are undeniably, ‘Young people care about this; this is what they vote off,’ is climate change, gun violence, and abortion rights or student debt. All of those issues are important to a very large subset of young people. But I think a big part of the reason we see so many young people tuned out is because we’re asking them to care about these other things when they can’t pay their rent. We’re asking them to care about these other things when they can’t afford to buy groceries. Young people care about the same issues as older generations when it comes to affordability, the economy and cost of living, and hardly ever, in my opinion, do we see them messaged to on those issues, despite the fact that we are dealing with those issues just like every other generation is.”

Read the full piece here.

‘The distrust of the system is really insane’

And in case you forgot, former President Donald Trump was supposed to be sentenced yesterday — but the date was moved to September. Nevertheless, in a piece for Teen Vogue, I spoke with young people about Trump’s conviction, amid calls for Biden to step aside following his debate performance.

According to members of a generation that’s grown up amid one historic event after the last, the former president’s conviction doesn't feel all that monumental. Here’s some of what they shared:

Owen Brosanders, who’s 16 and from Arizona, said the results of the election could shape his view of the country’s electoral system for years to come.

“For me, it'll really come after the election," Brosanders said. "Like, seeing if it's possible for someone with a felony conviction to be president, that will really influence it.” He added, “The distrust of the system is really insane.”

Lea Nepomuceno, an 18-year-old criminal-justice reform advocate from California, does think Trump received a fair trial and should have been convicted, but what struck her most was the celebratory response to the guilty verdict.

“I’m definitely not a fan of Trump, but I think no one’s conviction [should] be celebrated, regardless of political affiliation,” Nepomuceno said.

Youth voter engagement group Voters of Tomorrow’s Jack Lobel pointed to a June poll with youth-focused firm Generation Lab showing that 74% percent of 18-29-year-old respondents in swing states said a person with a felony conviction should not be allowed to be president.

Read the full piece here.