Gen Z Clashes with Vivek Ramaswamy, Demands America First Politics at Major Youth Conference

CINCINNATI — Nearly 1,000 youth activists inspired by the Ron Paul revolution held a powwow on how to advance the positive vision of America First constitutionalism for the midterms, 2028, and beyond at the Young Americans for Liberty national convention (YALCON).

And the message is clear: Youth demand mass deportations, no more wars, sound money, and limited government. Nothing less will do.

The John Birch Society Dominates

The John Birch Society and The New American were on the ground at YALCON — which ran from July 27 to 30 — interviewing elected officials and speakers while sharing the good news of Americanism, liberty, and how to restore sanity and constitutionalism through education, intelligence gathering, and organized action.

Distributing hundreds of books and magazines, JBS and TNA significantly impacted the youth, with one attendee communicating to this writer that “The John Birch Society is exactly what we [youth] need today.”

Another student said to his friend at the popular JBS exhibitor booth, “Wow, these guys are super based” (Gen Z’s phrase for those who possess true and courageous positions).

Vivek Ramaswamy: Came Late, Left Early

Alongside high-profile speakers such as Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Congressman Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), and libertarian comedian and podcaster Dave Smith, failed 2024 presidential hopeful (and Ohio’s GOP nominee for governor) Vivek Ramaswamy keynoted YALCON.

Ramaswamy has earned the ire of many right-wing youths for his infamous 2024 “Christmas crashout,” in which he took to social media to lambaste heritage (“native”) Americans for being lazy, unmotivated, and contributors to a culture of “mediocrity.”

In the missive, he dismissed concerns about H-1B visa workers replacing U.S. jobs and shared that young Americans cannot get hired, buy a house, get married, and earn the American dream because foreigners simply work harder than they do.

The message received nearly 130 million impressions on X (formerly Twitter), and the backlash cost Ramaswamy his coveted position with Elon Musk to oversee the then-newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In other words, he lost massive political capital over the post, and with it, much of his youth contingent.

While Ramaswamy is not completely inaccurate about a section of America’s youth being mediocre, he refused to consider concerns about immigrants replacing Americans through alien-worker programs and the toll of mass migration — both legal and illegal.

His anticipated speech at YALCON was supposed to be a routine campaign stop for the multimillionaire, who founded Roivant Sciences, a biotechnological pharmaceutical company that has been accused of a “pump and dump” failed Alzheimer’s medication.

But Ramaswamy’s appearance crashed and burned, making national waves. He arrived at the event thirty minutes late, and was nearly booed off stage before he could even begin his speech.

Hundreds in the crowd, mainly composed of 18-24-year-old males, emphatically shouted, “You think Americans are dumb?” “What about AIPAC?” “We want jobs,” and “Why can’t we afford a home?”

Ramaswamy’s response was tone-deaf: “No matter what happens, in whichever direction we go, my generation has already made it. We are going to be fine. It is going to be your generation that is going to pay the price.”

He offered no substantive solutions for Gen Z to fix it apart from voting for him instead of socialists.

Cutting his remarks short, he said “peace out,” put down the mic, and made a fast exit as the crowd continued hurling boos.

Many attendees considered the instance to be representative of everything that is wrong with the GOP: soundbites with no follow-through.

Senator Rand Paul Briefs YALCON on Fauci Hearings

Senator Rand Paul, on the other hand, received a hero’s welcome from the students.

Hot off the committee room floor after pressing Dr. Anthony Fauci for his willful mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis, Paul briefed the room on what happened during the viral hearing.

“He [Fauci] pled the fifth 111 times,” he said, adding that Fauci is a coward who lied to the American public that lockdowns, social distancing, and masking were legitimate solutions to the pandemic.

By pleading the Fifth Amendment, Fauci guarded against perjuring himself. When asked by The New American about next steps for accountability, Paul said the Senate will hold Fauci in contempt. “Next week; we will vote on it next week,” he said.

Holding Fauci in contempt could adjudicate him, as he will be tried in leftist courts in Washington, D.C., that are notorious for protecting Deep State Insiders.

Regardless, Paul doubled down. He cited court rulings against President Donald Trump’s former advisors Steve Bannon and Roger Stone for refusing to testify before Congress, and expressed hope that Fauci will receive similar treatment.

Massie, Trump, and the Midterms

While being loud in opposition to Ramaswamy and neoconservatives, YALCON was equally emphatic in its support for Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Perhaps the most vocal opponent of President Trump’s war in Iran and advocate for the release of the Epstein files and prosecutions for the criminals involved, Massie was hailed as a example of what politics should be.

Staring out into the sea of students, this writer saw countless youth sporting “Massie 2028” hats. And there were spontaneous cheers for the congressman throughout the event.

The enthusiasm for Massie is less about the man and more about what he represents. One Gen Z supporter, Jackson Ryan, told The New American that Massie “represents a new path and a new way” for the Republican Party.

People “no longer have hope in our elected officials; they no longer have any impetus to participate in the political process at all,” he added, reflecting on the current state of the MAGA movement. “Massie was the only person really who had enough integrity, enough of the gall, to actually go out and speak out.”

But hope is not lost. Ryan explained that Gen Z is hungry for a “hijacking of the Republican Party to use that as a vehicle for more liberty-minded candidates to get the party back to its original principles.”

Conclusion

YALCON is a petri dish for future Americanist leaders, and their desires are abundantly clear: They want to live in a version of America that puts Americans first.

The youth’s laundry list to save the nation contains the following:

• The dollar must be restored by returning to gold-backed, constitutional currency;
• Every last illegal foreign invader must be deported to protect national security, elections, jobs, housing, and national identity;
• Politicians must end foreign wars and foreign-influence schemes;
• Mass surveillance and artificial intelligence must be combated; and,
• Americanism, not globalism, must be our credo.

If the GOP wants to earn the Gen Z vote, they need to start paying attention and delivering. Otherwise, democratic socialism via Zohran Mamdani’s ilk will rule the day and the future.