Oldest president-elect Trump picks multigenerational nominees after winning younger voters

While Donald Trump is the oldest president-elect in U.S. history, his picks for White House staffers and Cabinet nominees are multigenerational, following a trend of reaching across the generation divide during his campaign.

Trump, who at 78 is part of the Baby Boomer generation (about 1946-1964), has tapped nominees and staffers from four generations, with the youngest being Gen Z (about 1996-2012). The broad intergenerational dynamic of his second administration is part of his unconventional approach to governing, which follows his appearances on alternative media during his campaign.

Trump has picked some surprising nominees that he believes will aid him in fighting government corruption during his presidency.

Following the announcement of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, Donald Trump, Jr., posted on X, “The Swamp fears [Pete Hegseth] because he's an American patriot who isn't owned by the corrupt military industrial complex. He wants to end wokeism in the military, stop the stupid forever wars and put America FIRST on the world stage.”

When Trump announced Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as his attorney general nominee, he said, “Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”

Millennials and Gen X

A common trend with these nominee choices is their age. Many of Trump’s cabinet picks are from the millennial generation (about 1981-1996) and Gen X (about 1965-1980).

Vice President-elect JD Vance is 40 years old, along with Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has been nominated for U.N. ambassador. Attorney general pick and former congressman Gaetz is 42. The nominee for Director of National Intelligence, former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, is 43. Environmental Protection Agency administrator pick and former GOP congressman Lee Zeldin is 44, along with Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth. National Security Advisor nominee Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., is 50, Department of Homeland Security secretary nominee South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is 52, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the Secretary of State nominee, is 53. CIA Director nominee John Ratcliffe is 59.

The heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump said “will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government,” are Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, who are 39 and 53, respectively.

Some of Trump’s White House staffers are also on the younger end. Karoline Leavitt, who is part of Gen Z at age 27, will be the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history. Trump’s pick for Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller, is 39. Dan Scavino, also set to become a Deputy Chief of Staff, will be 49 by the inauguration.

Trump also has some older picks, such as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum at age 68 for secretary of the interior, Susie Wiles for White House chief of staff at 67, Tom Homan for border czar at age 62, Dr. Mehmet Oz for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at 64 years old, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for secretary of Health and Human Services at 70.

Unconventional and unsurprising

During Trump’s prior administration, the average age of his nominees for attorney general, secretary of defense, and secretary of state was 67, compared to the current average age of 46 for nominees of those positions for this term. The average age of the current attorney general and secretaries of state and defense when they started in the Biden administration was 65.

Professor Daniel Farber at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law told CNN last week that Trump’s picks for his second administration are more unconventional.

“One thing that has kept this from going to extremes is that most presidents understand that they need competent, experienced staff across the government to carry out their programs effectively. I don’t think Trump has that view,” Farber said.

Some Republican senators have also voiced their concerns or surprise at some of Trump’s nominees.

HollywoodInToto.com Founder Christian Toto told Just the News on Tuesday that Trump’s cabinet picks are unsurprising, given his track record.

“The Trump campaign doesn't play by the rules, the understatement of the year if not the decade. Choosing younger cabinet appointees who haven't followed the traditional path to government makes perfect sense in that context,” Toto said.

He also explained how Trump’s nominees will likely be welcomed by audiences of alternative media that the former president appeared on during his campaign.

New media landscape

“The campaign also knows that media coverage will be excessively negative regardless who is chosen, but they'll get a more fair hearing from right-leaning or apolitical podcasts,” Toto added. “That new media audience will appreciate fresh faces who haven't been part of the government system and may have something fresh to add to the conversation.”

Trump’s younger picks follows his trend of appearing on podcasts during his campaign, which generally draw a younger audience.

During his campaign, Trump went on 14 major podcasts and streaming shows, including those hosted by Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and Logan Paul.

Pew Research Center found in a poll conducted this summer that 21% of Americans get their news from social media influencers. About 21% lean Republican or are Republican, and 22% lean Democratic or are Democratic. The age range that gets their news from these influencers the most is 18-29 at 37%. The 30-49 age range is the second-highest percentage at 26%.

News influencers are mostly on the social media platform X, at 85%. Meanwhile, 50% have an Instagram account, and 44% are on YouTube. About two-thirds of news influencers are on more than one site.

The poll found that 77% of news influencers do not have an affiliation with or background in a news organization. There are 27% of news influencers who are Republican, conservative, or pro-Trump, compared to 21% who are Democratic, liberal, or pro-Kamala Harris.

The Election Day exit polls showed Gen X breaking for Trump.

According to The Associated Press’ post-election poll, the age range of 45-64 broke 52% for Trump, compared to 46% for Harris. The 65+ group was similar, with 51% going for Trump and 48% voting for Harris. A CNN exit poll showed 54% of the age range of 45-64 voting for Trump, while 44% voted for Harris. That age range had the highest response rate for the poll at 35%. The 65+ voters split 49% to 49% for Trump and Harris.