Beyond MAGA: The Emergent New Traditionalism that could Reshape American Politics
In January, More in Common released the most comprehensive study to date of the Americans who voted for President Trump in November 2024. Beyond MAGA: A Profile of the Trump Coalition provides a detailed segmentation of these voters and their views on the major issues confronting our country and the world.
This newsletter is part of a multi-part series on Beyond MAGA, summarizing data and findings from our study. It examines an emergent new traditionalism that is taking shape among younger Americans, most evident among younger Trump voters, amid dissatisfaction with the economic and cultural status quo.
“Beyond MAGA” has been featured in Axios, USA Today, MSNOW, The Atlantic, and more.
Learn more about the four types of Trump voters: MAGA Hardliners, Anti-Woke Conservatives, Mainline Republicans, and the Reluctant Right at beyondmaga.us.
Watch our short video about the Mainline Republicans (30% of Trump voters), the middle-of-the-road conservatives who play by the rules and expect others to do the same.
Introduction
“Everything has gone downhill, literally everything. We are more divided than ever. We can't afford basic items such as groceries and household items. The American dream is dead, no young person unless coming from money to start with can realistically even think about buying a home meanwhile states are giving substantial money/ housing/clothing/food—everything away to people who are not here legally. Nothing runs efficient anymore; no one seems to care anymore at their jobs. Schools are a mess..."
Claire, Anti-Woke Conservative
Age 33 • Mixed race woman • Mansfield, Massachusetts
The significant role that younger Americans played in Trump’s 2024 electoral victory upended some longstanding assumptions about the demographic profile of Republican voters. Support for Trump’s candidacy was especially high among younger men. This outcome coincided with discussions of growing cultural conservatism among segments of younger Americans, even as their peers have moved in more progressive directions.
Our Beyond MAGA analysis compared a younger cohort of Gen Z and Millennials with an older cohort comprising Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation (i.e., contrasting Americans of voting age born after versus before 1981).
This analysis identified a countercultural “emergent new traditionalism” among younger Americans and particularly younger Trump voters, that is taking shape amid dissatisfaction with the economic and cultural status quo. Five parts of this countercultural stance emerge from conversations with and surveys of younger Trump voters:
A conflict orientation to politics
Some attraction to exclusionary and fringe views
A return to traditional gender roles
A desire for moral and religious structure
Skepticism about democracy and support for constitutional violations
Five Key Takeaways:
1. Many younger Americans adopt a zero-sum outlook on politics
Younger Americans on the left and right are more inclined than older generations to adopt a zero-sum outlook on politics and society, though in both instances a minority holds this perspective. One in three younger Trump voters (32 percent) and younger non-Trump voters (33 percent) agree that “when one group gains in America, another group usually loses.” By contrast, older Trump and non-Trump voters alike are more likely to endorse a positive-sum view: that it is “possible for the whole country to grow and prosper together.”
Younger generations are also more likely than older cohorts to prioritize “winning at all costs” over compromising with opponents. This tendency is especially pronounced among younger men: 38 percent of younger Trump-voting men prioritize winning at all costs, compared with 26 percent of older Trump-voting men and just seven percent of older men who did not vote for Trump. While winning at all costs remains a minority viewpoint, its prevalence points to a weaker commitment to compromise as a civic norm among younger Americans.
2. Younger voters show relatively higher levels of fringe views
While belief in racial inferiority, cooler attitudes towards Jewish Americans, and support for political violence remains low, younger voters express relatively higher alignment with these fringe views than older voters.
Younger Trump voters remain overwhelmingly opposed to explicitly racist claims, however about one in seven (15 percent) agree that “some races are naturally inferior,” slightly higher than among older Trump voters but similar to levels among younger non-Trump voters.
Attitudes toward Jewish Americans are slightly cooler among younger Trump voters, although views remain broadly positive. Among Trump voters, younger generations’ warmth toward Jewish Americans averages 64 on a 0-100 scale in which 50 is neutral. This compares with a warmth score of 76 among older Trump voters and 63 among younger non-Trump voters.
Support for political violence remains limited across all groups, although younger voters are less likely to reject it outright. While large majorities agree that political violence is “never justified,” younger Trump voters are nearly three times as likely as older Trump voters to feel that violence may sometimes be necessary (20 percent versus seven percent).
3. Restoring traditional gender roles is a common desire among younger Trump voters
“We can all do other things also, of course… however, those are the roles God planned out in the Bible. They also best suit the physiology and psychology of the two genders and reduce friction in society. We feel most fulfilled in these roles and don’t have to argue as much over who will handle what, whose career the family moves for etc.”
Amanda, Reluctant Right
Age 40 • White woman • Felton, Pennsylvania
A desire to restore traditional gender roles is a key area that defines this emergent new traditionalism. For some younger conservatives, this is a necessary corrective to what they perceive as cultural decline and confusion around masculinity—a perspective voiced by both younger men and women. Notably, support for traditional gender roles is consistent between younger male and female Trump voters (27 percent and 25 percent, respectively).
Half of younger Trump voters (49 percent) believe that American culture needs “more masculinity,” significantly more than both older Trump voters (39 percent) and older non-Trump voters (13 percent). Younger Trump voters also are the only group in which there is significant support for male-led relationships (26 percent), substantially more than among older Trump voters (10 percent).
Comments from younger Trump supporters show a clear and confidently articulated belief in male leadership within relationships, rooted in ideas about biological difference, traditional morality, and social stability. These threads of new traditionalism are often voiced not as restrictive but as natural, desirable, and protective — a model in which men lead and provide, and women nurture and support.
4. Younger Trump voters often view being religious as more rebellious than being an atheist
Another dimension that emerged from conversations with younger Trump voters is a desire for greater moral and religious authority or structure. Younger Americans have grown up in a more secular society with less trust in institutional authority than previous generations. As a result, sources of moral authority are less defined.
A substantial minority of younger Trump voters favor an expanded role for religion: two in five (40 percent) agree that “the United States should bring more religion into government and public life,” rather than maintaining a separation between church and state.
Those who hold this view may sense they are out of step with the majority: for a significant number of younger Trump voters, religious identification is less a marker of conformity and more one of challenge to a dominant secular culture. Younger Trump voters are almost twice as likely to regard being religious as more “rebellious” than being an atheist (43 percent). This distinguishes them from older Trump voters, who still see atheism as more rebellious, while younger non-Trump voters are evenly split.
“There is more controversy when a person holds a religion than if a person holds no religion. People are starting to ditch religion with little to no controversy in society, making being religious the rebellious one out of the options.”
Patrick, Reluctant Right
Age 20 • White man • Peshtigo, Wisconsin
5. Confidence in democracy is weaker among younger Trump voters
“Democracy hasn’t failed us, but the institutions that should be vetting our candidates and monitoring our politicians have. So-called leaders who in previous times would have been tossed aside are allowed to burrow in like ticks sucking on the lifeblood of taxpayers.”
Paulie, Anti-Woke Conservative
Age 32 • Asian American woman • Overland Park, Kansas
A final thread evident among younger Trump voters is a weaker confidence in democracy. While many younger Trump voters show some level of skepticism towards democracy, their frustration is directed less at democracy as an ideal and more at the way American institutions operate in practice.
Only 28 percent of younger Trump voters “strongly agree” that democracy is the best system of government (59 percent total agree), compared with 53 percent of older Trump voters (78 percent total agree). But a very similar generational pattern appears among non-Trump voters (30 percent of younger non-Trump voters “strongly agree” versus 60 percent of older non-Trump voters).
Conclusion: Will this “emergent new traditionalism” persist?
The picture that emerges from this chapter reveals several surprising patterns.
First, younger Trump voters are in many respects similar to other Gen Z and Millennial Americans in their outlook. They have been shaped by social media, share similar economic pessimism, are more likely to feel let down by democratic institutions, want to challenge the status quo, and are more oriented to conflict and zero-sum thinking.
Second, younger Trump voters frequently embrace more traditional values than do older Trump voters. This includes higher levels of support for hierarchical gender roles, traditional masculinity, the public role of religion and others. Similar trends appear among non-Trump voters, though at weaker levels.
Skepticism toward democratic constraints is also higher. This seems to reflect a desire for decisive leadership rather than wholesale rejection of democratic principles but is still significant. More extreme attitudes remain on the fringe, confined to a small subset of Trump supporters rather than defining the whole group. Taken together, this analysis suggests a collection of attitudes among younger Trump voters that does not yet constitute a distinctive segment of “new traditionalists” but highlights emerging trends that could significantly shape the future of the conservative coalition.
How these generational forces play out—within the conservative coalition and in American society more broadly—is not predetermined but will be consequential. Millennial and Gen Z Americans will constitute a majority of the electorate in 2028. These shifts could reflect a passing moment or be early signs of a more durable realignment that could shape the future of the right and of the country more broadly.
To read the full chapter on President Trump’s leadership and the rest of the Beyond MAGA report, visit BeyondMAGA.us. To hear directly from the researchers behind the report, watch our Beyond MAGA launch webinar here.
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This is informative but not that surprising. The youth will always want to transgress what they sense is the norm. For the past twenty years or so, some of the most prevalent themes in our ambient culture have been girlbossery, male ineffectuality, religious tolerance, victimhood and trauma, and secularism — all of which were once themselves "countercultural." Expect the youth to counter these.
"Restoring traditional gender roles is a common desire..." One can practice this in your relationship any time you both want to. My concern is that I detect a faint odor of 'we want to impose traditional roles' on all of the United States. As my Louisiana friend likes to say, that dog don't hunt.