White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused her own generation, Gen Z, of being raised with “silver spoons in their mouth” and being “a little bit” lazy as a result of it, blasting them for complaining about the rising cost of living.
Talking with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Jesse Watters Primetime on Thursday, the 28-year-old spokesperson was bashing young members of the Democratic Party when she escalated her criticism to the whole generation she belongs to.
The two were talking about young Democratic voters who support progressive candidates like New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the “godless communists,” as President Donald Trump called them, who won a string of primaries in New York last month, after receiving the backing of the young politician.
Some of these kids—and I call them kids because they are in their twenties and have never had real jobs, and they’re complaining that things are expensive. Yes, things are expensive when you don’t have a real job,” Watters said.
“Do you think that’s getting traction? Complaining?” he asked Leavitt.
“Unfortunately, I do, because this generation, my generation, I hate to say it, Gen Z and those younger than me have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths, just getting everything handed to them. That’s not the values this country was built on,” the White House press secretary said.
“It was built on meritocracy and hard work, pulling up your sleeves, pulling yourself up from your bootstraps, and achieving the American dream, and we need to protect it with all we’ve got,” she added.
“A little bit,” Leavitt responded, adding: “It’s laziness, and it’s the liberal indoctrination,” she added, blaming the country’s public education system and praising parents choosing to homeschool their children.
Watters suggested young kids who “misbehave” should join the army. “Right? Shape them up,” he said.
“Send them to Cuba. Send them to Iran, they’re gonna want to come back real quick,” Leavitt responded.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment by email on Friday morning.
Watters then asked her if the problem with her generation was laziness.
Send them to Cuba. Send them to Iran, they’re gonna want to come back real quick,” Leavitt responded.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment by email on Friday morning.
Just Another Lazy Generation?
“Lazy” is a label that has also been previously placed on millennials, a generation whose alleged love for avocado toast was blamed for their struggles to find jobs, start a family, and buy a house while being hit by a series of financial crises.
Now it is Gen Z’s turn to be called lazy as they voice their complaints about higher inflation and a world that has turned upside down compared to what their parents and grandparents knew in terms of employment and housing. Though their financial difficulties are no longer blamed on sourdough and expensive fruit, but on iced matcha lattes.
The American youth—and not only young progressive Democrats—is indeed worried about their personal financial situation and the direction the country’s economy is taking.
The American Dream vs Gen Z
A CNBC and SurveyMonkey survey released last month found that 42 percent of Gen Zers feel the American Dream is only achievable for some people, and just 22 percent think they have achieved their own version of it.
That is compared to 68 percent of baby boomers who think they have achieved their definition of the American dream.
The cost of living was the top reason (81 percent) cited by 45 percent of Americans from all generations who are not confident they will ever achieve the American Dream. Next came housing prices (60 percent), healthcare costs (49 percent), and low wages (47 percent).
This is only one of many surveys that over the past few years have shown how Gen Zers are struggling with economic instability and eroding confidence in their opportunities in the U.S.
The unemployment rate among Gen Z workers ranges from 14.6 percent for those aged 16 to 19 to 7.1 percent for those aged 20 to 24, based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. By comparison, the unemployment rate for Americans aged 25 to 54 is only 3.7 percent, and that for workers aged 55 and above is an even lower 2.8 percent.
When it comes to housing, home prices have risen by roughly 60 percent since the onset of the pandemic, according to JP Morgan data. Mortgage rates are historically high and have essentially doubled from their pandemic lows after 2022.