One young American who is taking his responsibility for civic engagement seriously is Knowa De Baraso, an influencer and internet personality who became a viral sensation during the 2024 presidential election — at just 13 years old.
He spoke with Scripps News about Kamala Harris' impact and what comes next for young Democrats as President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
"I've been on the campaign trail with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris since the beginning of 2023," De Baraso said. "Since then, Kamala Harris has used her 'rizz' with young voters to convince them to vote for that side. What Kamala Harris is doing now is encouraging her young voters to stay active — despite the challenging election results."
"Kamala Harris, aside from Al Gore, has been the best with young voters not only because of her positions on climate change and the gun violence epidemic, but simply because of who she is and what she has accomplished," he said.
The Democratic National Committee is slated to pick new leadership for the party in February. What is needed to appeal to young Democrats?
"What excites me is a Democratic Party of innovation, of saying 'we're going to get dirty money out of politics,' 'what we're going to do is do something about the gun violence epidemic,' 'we're going to build and Barack Obama and Joe Biden's leadership in their White House,'" De Baraso said.
"What the Democratic party needs right now is a true leader," De Baraso said. "David Hogg just put his hat in the ring for vice chair. It's not the race of the leadership that really excites young people. It's more so their ideas. You could be a White male, you could be a Black lady or your could be a Black man — if you believe in conservatism, we're not going to be excited about it. It's less about the race of the person and more about their ideas."
RELATED STORY | Running for DNC vice chair, school shooting survivor David Hogg blames consultants for 2024 election defeat
What does De Baraso want to see during President-elect Trump's second term in office?
"I want to see young people on Twitter, on Instagram — constantly criticizing what Donald Trump has done. Not only that, but take a nonpartisan approach to applaud some of the good things he could do. Let's say he actually takes a step — which is highly unlikely — to do something about the gun violence epidemic. Applaud him for that, so he knows when he's doing good and doing bad. Don't just criticize him for each and every thing, because that could be really dangerous."
Watch the full interview with De Baraso in the video above.
