An attendee wears a hat in the colors of the U.S. flag during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, U.S., March 11, 2026. REUTERS Kevin Lamarque
Former GOP speechwriter Tim Miller says voters are getting tired of the old people running the country, and President Donald Trump appears to be one of them.
“As the failures of American politics have become painfully obvious — from Congress’s inability to make policy to the political parties being helmed by octogenarians to the inefficiencies that are driving Californians to move to red states — frustration with government’s lack of ability to do anything might just be the one thing that everyone can agree on, from Mamdani stans to Abundance bros to the MAGA hordes that believed Trump would, if nothing else, be a man of action,” wrote Miller.
“Our government is creaky, literally: As of its convening last year, this Congress has the most members above 70 years old in American history, and the average age of American governors is even higher than that of Congress. Americans made their feelings about the gerontocracy abundantly clear in their rejection of Joe Biden in 2024. And their frustrations are well founded.”
Young politicians, said Miller, are “more likely” to push for real change and reform, and he suggested voters are starting to see the value of younger candidate willing to “blow up the status quo,” as indicated by Democratic candidate Graham Platner, who is running for GOP Sen. Susan Collins’ seat in Maine, and Massachusetts senatorial candidate Seth Moulton among others.
“Seth Moulton has pushed age limits for Congress and term limits for committee chairs. He advocates broad electoral reforms like eliminating the filibuster and the Electoral College, and has been doing so since 2019. He’s been a dogged opponent of Trumpian corruption and graft,” said Miller.
Many of the younger candidates running this year are also adept at social media and willing to yell loud about Trump’s Iran war. Platner, he said, gives voice to the Democrat Party base’s frustration that its leaders don’t share their rage over the Trump administration or “the rest of the Epstein class that has bowed to Trump. Whether it be on foreign policy or corporate capture.”