The United States this year went from having a member of the Silent Generation in the White House — former President Joe Biden, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on November 20, 1942 — to Boomer President Donald Trump, born in New York City's Queens borough on June 14, 1946.
To Trump critics from post-Boomer generations — Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z — the 79-year-old president epitomizes many of the qualities they say they detest in right-wing Boomers, from arrogance to intolerance to selfishness. Yet Trump, in the 2024 election, made gains with Gen-Z voters (along with Latinos and independents) that helped him pull off a narrow victory over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
In a blistering video posted in the New York Times' opinion section Friday, a group of younger voters lay out some reasons why they blame Baby Boomers for the many problems plaguing the U.S. during Trump's second presidency.
The voters argue that Boomers, in contrast to the hardships of the World War II Generation, "were handed the world on a silver platter" — from "cheap housing" and "cheap college" to upward mobility in their jobs — only to throw those advantages away for future generations by voting for GOP Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump in big numbers.
"You've been an electoral powerhouse since the 1980s," the voters argue. "When presented with a choice between protecting your interests or investing in a better future for your children, you usually chose yourselves. Can you believe it? More benefits for Boomers, more tax cuts from Boomers. And borrowed money to make up the difference."
The video goes on to outline the challenges Millennials and Generation X have been facing, including soaring college tuition and unaffordable housing. The younger voters complain, "And you made it more difficult for younger Americans to live in the cities with the best jobs.
"You regularly use your electoral might to squash plans for new construction and protect your property values. It's like you think democracy only exists so that you can band together en masse to freeze your communities in time. You're the reason so many Americans sleep in their cars. You're the reason that public schools today are more segregated than they were in 1968."
The video has a request for Boomers: "How about an apology?"
