Nikki Haley‘s son, Nalin Haley, said Republican leaders in Congress “either don’t know the problems that we’re facing or they’re ignoring it” during an appearance on Fox News’s Fox & Friends on Monday.
Haley, 24, called on the Republican Party to cater to Generation Z, which includes the newest wave of voters born roughly between 1997 and 2012.
“Right now, I haven’t heard any Republican leaders talk about the issues that young people are facing. Congress has been nothing more than a glorified nursing home,” he said. “They either don’t know the problems that we’re facing or they’re ignoring it. And to be honest, I don’t know which one is worse.”
Haley’s television appearance followed his online tirade over the Thanksgiving weekend. He lamented in a variety of X posts that most of his friends are unemployed, despite being college graduates from highly ranked schools. Others online pointed out that Haley has the help of his parents, as his mother is the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Haley responded to one user who accused him of being a “nepo baby,” a child of nepotism.
“Spoiled brat for standing up to greedy corporations and wanting my friends and fellow Americans to have jobs, affordability, and safety? I’ve received 0 help from my parents,” he wrote on X on Friday. “You don’t know what I do for work and yet you assume I got it from my parents as a cope.”
According to Haley, “over half of Gen Z has positive views of socialism,” proving that affordability is a top matter for it.
“The Democratic Socialists are actually reaching out to young people,” he said. “If the Republicans do that, which they need to do, it may stop a lot of kids my age from becoming socialists and from going to the Democrats.”
Gen Z will represent roughly 30% of the global population within the next 10 years, according to a report released by Bank of America. The company examined debit and credit data, which revealed that Gen Z spent $2.7 trillion worldwide last year. Bank of America predicted that the number will increase to $12 trillion by 2030.
I FLED SOCIALISM TO SAVE MY LIFE. WE MUST SHOW GENERATION Z IT’S A TERRIBLE IDEA
Still, the Republican Party has a moderate hold on some Gen Z voters. New data indicated the Democratic Party has drastically lost ground on voter registration with young men, dropping 20% among younger white men and 12% among non-white men around the same age. The data also described Gen Z as “the most pro-GOP generation alive.”
President Donald Trump won a sizable number of Gen Z voters last year after he campaigned on improving the economy, which was listed among the top five concerns for voters.