Young Americans across the country cited the economy and global unrest as their top concerns ahead of the ABC News presidential debate, while offering mixed views on key topics like electric vehicles and renewables.
Voters on college campuses in Washington, DC, Milwaukee, Detroit and Houston cited the economy, immigration and foreign policy as their top issues in interviews with Fox News Digital.
Some young Americans also said they would support far-left policies that Vice President Kamala Harris previously championed but has now backed away from or is silent on, such as mandatory electric vehicles and some form of reparations for Black Americans.
“I would definitely say that inflation and rent prices, the housing crisis is something that I think the Biden administration hasn’t really dealt with enough. So, domestically, I would definitely say that,” said Alex, a George Washington University student who described himself as “very left-wing.” Fox News DigitalHe said ensuring a ceasefire in Gaza was another top concern for him.
College students across the United States spoke with Fox News Digital about the direction of the country and some of Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy positions. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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Giacomo, a student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, said immigration and foreign policy are his top concerns this election, and he is against any candidate who wants to take the U.S. into another war.
“Be a pro-peace candidate, not a pro-war candidate, and then take action on immigration. That will get my vote,” he said.
“It’s very concerning,” Earnest, a George Washington University student who is originally from Philadelphia, said of the global unrest.
“One of the reasons is because of the wars that are going on, that are going on across oceans, as well as the inflation that is going on in our country since 2020, when Joe Biden was in office. I think those are the two main issues right now,” he said.
When voters were asked whether they would support a federal effort to mandate electric vehicles and whether they would support compensation, their responses were mixed.
Voters considered Vice President Harris’ past support for EV requirements and reparations. (AP/Stephen B. Morton)
Atinuke, a University of Houston student, said she supports reparations but doesn’t think mandating electric vehicles is a good idea.
“Some people can’t afford it,” he said.
Riley, another student at the University of Houston, said of electric vehicles, “Older people won’t do it. My grandfather can’t operate an iPhone, so how will he operate an electric car?”
Voters were more supportive of reparations or other ways to help black Americans.
A Tesla car charges at an electric vehicle charging station in New York.
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“I mean, I think most of our people, Black people, in general, we’ve built America,” said Joshua, of the University of Houston. “I think we need to get more attention … but not necessarily get paid for being Black,” he added.
Cameron, a University of Houston student, said he would support reparations for Black Americans, but he realizes it will come at a financial cost.
He said, “Money doesn’t fall from the sky, so it has to come from somewhere.”
Gabe, a junior at Wayne State University, doubted Harris was serious about reparations and said the idea seemed like something floated by politicians to gain some votes.
“I don’t think he’s really serious about this. I don’t think anybody is really serious about this. We had Barack Obama, a black president, and there was still no real conversation about reparations,” he said. “It’s really not going to happen.”
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Harris this week added policies to her campaign website for the first time since emerging as the Democratic presidential nominee last month.
Her website does not currently mention her stance on reparations or the electric vehicle mandate. However, during her presidential bid in 2019, Harris, who was then a US senator, said she would run for office. Representing CaliforniaShe said she supports “some form of compensation” and legislation to study the matter further.
Her campaign website claims she wants to continue investing to create “high-quality union jobs in the electric vehicle and battery supply chains.”
Harris has previously run on a climate policy platform that called for all cars manufactured in the U.S. to be electric by 2035.
Her campaign released a statement last week indicating she “does not support an electric vehicle mandate,” a key component of the Green New Deal, which Harris still claims to support. The Harris campaign has not responded. He made the comments last week when Fox News Digital asked him for clarification on his policy position.
The Harris campaign did not reveal its position on reparations when asked by Fox News Digital on Wednesday, amid growing concern from progressive advocates after California lawmakers withdrew their reparations bill last week.
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Fox News’s Ashley Carnahan, Alec Shemel, Nicholas Lanum and Jamie Joseph contributed to this article.
