Youthquake Ahead: MAGA’s Economic Crossroads in the Battle for 2026

Rasmussen pollster Mark Mitchell joined Steve Bannon on WarRoom to deliver a stark warning: America’s youngest voters are embracing economic populism at levels that could upend both parties. With 65% saying the system is unfair, 17% facing unemployment, and a majority leaning toward Democratic socialism in 2028, Mitchell argued Republicans must abandon laissez-faire dogma and embrace bold reforms. Bannon tied the data directly to MAGA’s maximalist push for institutional power before the 2026 midterms, warning that Democrats’ hate-driven mobilization could combine with youth discontent to derail the movement if action lags.

The conversation opened against a backdrop of MAGA momentum. President Donald Trump had just celebrated the collapse of Michigan’s "false electors” case, a symbolic defeat for the lawfare strategy aimed at his movement. But Bannon quickly shifted to the next existential challenge—not in courtrooms, but in the hearts and minds of younger voters.

Quick Clip:

MARK MITCHELL: Republicans are not able to coast through and win a House majority on Trump's coattails.

Zoomers are economic populists, and they're very upset at the current system. They want change, and if not from the Trump admin, they'll turn elsewhere.@honestpollster pic.twitter.com/29K1e4e68B

— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) September 9, 2025

Mitchell’s latest Rasmussen survey on Americans aged 18–39 revealed data that should shake Republicans out of complacency. Among the findings:

65% believe the system is stacked against their generation.

17% are unemployed, a figure nearly three times higher than the national average.

Only half are confident they’ll ever own a home.

A stunning 53% said they would back a Democratic socialist for president in 2028—by nearly 20 points.

Perhaps most alarming for conservatives: economic populism is surging across partisan lines. A full 76% of young voters support nationalizing industries like healthcare, energy, and tech. That includes 78% of young Republicans and 79% of Trump 2024 voters. Even more shocking, 57% of Trump voters support wealth confiscation policies.

"This is not your granddaddy’s conservatism,” Mitchell cautioned. Deregulation, tax cuts, and tinkering with entitlements won’t cut it. If Republicans fail to meet this populist moment, he warned, young voters could flock to figures like Bernie Sanders, AOC, or whoever carries the socialist banner into 2028.

Bannon seized on the numbers, hammering home the urgency. Democrats, he noted, are mobilized by raw hatred of Trump, while Republicans risk being lulled into complacency. The left offers younger voters the illusion of radical change, and unless MAGA matches it with bold, tangible economic reforms, the GOP could lose an entire generation.

To illustrate the stakes, Mitchell recalled Rasmussen’s past warnings. In September 2022, he highlighted how Republicans squandered a historic lead heading into the midterms. On August 13, 2025, he underscored how Trump’s tariff agenda resonated with disillusioned young voters. The data, sponsored by the Heartland Institute and Stopping Socialism, was designed to force Republicans to confront reality: economic populism isn’t a fringe idea anymore—it’s mainstream among the very voters who will decide 2026 and 2028.

Mitchell also pointed to long-term opportunities. The 2030 census could correct the 2020 distortion that padded blue states by counting illegal immigrants. Redistricting in states like Texas, Florida, and Ohio could deliver more Republican seats if done aggressively. But those structural wins mean little if youth voters bolt in the meantime.

Bannon pressed the point further: "This is why Trump is talking about forty percent taxes on millionaires, and why MAGA has to go smash mouth. You want to save this country? You meet people where they are.” The message: ignore the youthquake at your peril.

The implications are clear. The old Republican formula—corporate-friendly policies wrapped in patriotic rhetoric—no longer resonates with voters under forty. They want a system that works for them, not Wall Street. Trump, as president, has already leaned into tariffs, reshoring, and worker-first policies. But Mitchell’s data suggests that to hold the coalition, MAGA must go further, faster, and harder.

The WarRoom segment left listeners with a sobering truth: time is running out. Democrats are united by hatred, radicalized by ideology, and funded by elites. Young Americans are disillusioned and ready to break the system. If Republicans don’t seize this populist wave, it won’t be Sanders or AOC leading it—it will be someone worse.