At the time of this writing, it’s early 2024 and we are barreling toward a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump – the two oldest presidential nominees in the history of the United States. This is the second time Biden and Trump have been named the two oldest presidential nominees in U.S. history, so congrats to them on beating their own record?
When I flip on or pull up the news, I hear most Americans crying out that these two candidates are too old for the job, and yet, here we are. Politics is complicated and it doesn’t always seem our individual, puny voices are clearly heard, but nonetheless, if we truly, collectively, agree that we need younger candidates, we don’t seem to be trying hard enough to make that happen.
Fun Fact: For almost 60 years, from 1963 to 2020, our presidents have come from only two generational cohorts: The Greatest Generation and Baby Boomers. Our stint under the Greatest Generation began with our youngest President ever, JFK, and we continued to elect members of that generation as they aged, including our oldest president until recently, Ronald Reagan.
Incidentally, Reagan’s age was considered an issue in 1984 when he ran for reelection at 73 years old – a downright spring chicken by 2024 standards. Makes you want to laugh until you cry, doesn’t it?
After George H.W. Bush, our final Greatest – that’s the generation, not a commentary – we skipped the Silent Generation entirely and elected a youthful president again, our first Baby Boomer, Bill Clinton. And we kept electing Boomers as they aged. Again, and again, and again.
Another fun fact: 3 out of 4 of our Baby Boomer Presidents (so far?) were born in the same year: 1946. Baby Boomers as a cohort were born between 1946 and 1964. These are the oldest of Boomers.
After four Baby Boomer presidents, we were fed up! And we moved on to…the Silent Generation? Yes, Joe Biden is from the Silent Generation. We backed up a generation. Our first Silent and he shows up after four Boomers. He happens to be a young Silent, not much older than our 1946 Boomers.
Fun Fact #3: Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are younger than both Trump and Biden. That’s right, the presidents elected in 1992 and 2000 are younger than our current presumptive nominees.
Imagine we were able to suspend the 22nd Amendment and Bill Clinton decided to run for a third term as a third-party candidate, 32 years after his first election. He would be the youngest of the three. Think about that.
Okay. Moving on.
So, where is Generation X?
Generation X tends to be less politically involved than other generations. This is not surprising to most of Gen X. While there is some Gen X representation in Congress, theoretically, we should hold considerably more seats. We’ve come late to the party, and the Boomers have chosen not to retire.
Why is that?
The answer is certainly complicated. It includes changes to how elections are run, the amount of money required, the power of incumbency, etc. Some may also cite stereotypical Boomer traits that cause them to grasp to power unyieldingly, choosing, in some cases, to die in office rather than pass the torch.
But here I will focus on the tendencies and experiences of Generation X that may be hindering their timely rise to the highest office.
In my opinion, there are 3 main reasons we don’t, and won’t, have a Generation X president.
Generation X is Independent
It’s true that Gen X, often called latchkey kids, were raised to be independent and continue to be considered independent thinkers and individualists, but that’s not specifically what I mean.
They are registered Independents. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, Gen X are more likely than older generations to be Independent voters. We aren’t idealists like Boomers and Millennials tend to be. We see the validity of opposing arguments and we are comfortable in the gray areas.
Keep in mind, we are the generation that insisted on complicated hero/villain-type characters like Tony Soprano and Walter White. Hell, we needed to see Karate Kid reimagined with Johnny Lawrence as the sympathetic antihero.
Generation X isn’t easily swayed to an extreme and generally consider ourselves moderates. We also didn’t grow up with a lot of polarizing issues. We were post-Vietnam and civil rights. Instead, we argued over Madonna videos and Monica Lewinsky. Lower stakes, man. With a tendency to both-sides every issue, we simply lack a passion for politics.
Generation X are not change agents
Generation X has a superpower and it’s adaptability. We have rolled with the punches our whole lives. And we’ve been ignored the whole time.
We’ve always been expected to work extra hard for the fewest rewards. We are children of divorce and of the Cold War. We know nothing is guaranteed and that’s okay. (Read here about how that makes Gen X extra equipped for success). We accepted the challenge, it never occurred to us to try to change the narrative.
Besides, we are way too cynical to be masters of change. Cynicism is our brand. We don’t have a lot of faith; in humanity, in the government, in our own ability to make a meaningful change. No, we feel more like we’ve been forgotten, left out, ignored, and pooed on. We take it better than we dish it out.
We weren’t ever handed the reigns and we didn’t try to take them. Adapting to change is easy for us, so why should we? We weren’t trained to be in control, and we didn’t need to be. We were trained to adapt.
Generation X is not understood
A recent article in Politico revealed Generation X to be “The Trumpiest Generation”. Since, multiple response articles have surfaced to refute that claim, like this one from the Washington Post.
Surprised? Don’t be. Those who study and write about Generation X don’t agree on its basic traits, particularly when referring to politics. And you know what? Based on my own understanding of Gen X, I think that makes sense. For one thing, being individualistic is kind of our thing. Also, less has been written and studied about Gen X than about any other living generation, so of course we aren’t well understood.
Nobody is saying, “Hey, let’s elect a Generation X president, because of all those noteworthy traits they have”. Millennials are old enough to be elected president now, and they’ve been studied at length. As a group, so much more seems to have been determined about them.
And finally, Millennials have more in common with Boomers than Gen X does. They are both large, dominating cohorts and share some traits, such as competitiveness, self-indulgence, and consumerism. While Gen X tends toward individualism and pragmatism, both Boomers and Millennials tend to be more community-oriented and idealistic.
In short, as a cohort, they are more familiar-looking than Generation X. Not always in the best ways, but as the saying goes, the devil you know.
Game over, baby
And that brings me to the real reason I predict we will never have a Generation X president. Just as we skipped over the Silent Generation (at least originally) to begin electing young Baby Boomers, I expect we will skip Gen X in favor of electing Millennials.
In 2024, we are poised to choose between our oldest President ever and our second oldest ever – who, by the way, were he to live through his entire term, would surpass our current oldest to become the oldest, so either way…
They were both president before and they were both old the first time. It’s just mind-boggling how much old we are dealing with here. And it’s not just me saying it. Everyone is saying it every day, in every way, constantly. Old, old, old, too old, and more old.
It doesn’t seem like there is an escape hatch outside of death this time around. These are our choices and they are old. I think there is one thing we Americans tend to do in situations that seem to have gone too far in one direction.
Swing the pendulum hard the other way.
After this election, I predict we will be after youthful leadership. And the joie de vivre of the 50 and 60-year-old Gen X political go-getters, the few that we have produced, just aren’t going to cut it. It’ll be Millennials or bust, and we won’t ever look back.
And it’s a shame.
We need a Generation X president. We need an adaptable, independent, both-sides moderate politician to lead. Especially now. We need the opposite of polarization.
Most of all, we need leaders that are not out for themselves. That don’t see themselves as the end-all or be-all. That are used to being overshadowed and are fine with that.
The power of the presidency isn’t very desirable for most of Generation X. We don’t want it. It’s too heavy a responsibility. We don’t yearn for the power, control, or the spotlight.
And that’s why we should have it.
It’s February 2024. I am very curious to see how this post ages. I can’t wait to write a follow-up.
[Hey! Guess what! It is now July 2024. Biden is no longer running for reelection. How much does that change things? Will we have a Gen X President now? Ever? Come join me in my follow-up post, here. See what you think.]
Am I way off? What do you predict? Share in the comments.
Read also:
Generation Jones vs. Generation X vs. Xennials
Why Generation X is Uniquely Equipped to Make Their Dreams Come True
U.S. Presidents by their Generational Cohort
Other Just-For-Fun Stuff for Gen X: