I don't think it was necessarily hate-fueled. It was Influencers and other paid actors making it seem like an ok thing to do, and to stick it to the establishment/elites (misidentified as left, instead of ultra rich), and Dems as evil as GOP. There is a reason that recruitment age for military is 18yo - it is the age where people know alot but understand less and can more easily be influenced. As the first gen fully raised in an online world, they didn't stand a chance of knowing how to combat the algorithms. Not any more than their grandparents knew how to battle the new 'TV ads'. Outside the USA, much of American thought is understood as weird and driven by state propaganda - a different version of North Korea.

It comes from their families. Families that highlight in-group vs out-group. Parents that openly make racist jokes, and if you were to call them out, they'd argue Fox News talking points with absolute confidence to make you seem/feel stupid in comparison. It's vicious and self-reinforcing. Most youngin's who go on to explore the world themselves can have their minds open, but when they live at home with people full of hate and vitriol, they're inundated with it. Their brains are full of propaganda, and if their household follows so-called "republican values," chances are that any questioning is swiftly squashed - can't question the leader, after all.

When republicans complain about outside ideas destroying family values, what they really mean is, "New ideas might break our mind-control over our kids." It makes sense they're scared of it. Unfortunately, the drive to break this will have to come from outside their families - which is an uphill battle when the kids are taught that their family beliefs are the rule.

The best things we can do are encourage skepticism and support those who've broken free. Planting seeds of doubt, and fostering their growth, is key to relinquishing the hold of childhood propaganda. It's not easy, it's a slow process, and we won't immediately see returns, but it's the most surefire way to get these young people to see the light. What's their reasoning? Make them reflect on it. Get them to truly consider what they value and why. Over time they may realize that they don't actually believe what they were taught to believe, and that's when they have a chance to break free.

i was a conservative when i was younger but for some perspective, that's an Australian conservative who at the time (1980s) would have made me a far left commie in American terms. Now at 60, green anarchist :)

18 yrs old ,confident in my ignorance, but to be fair at age 60, now I'm confident I'm ignorant.

What kind of hate fueled, evil upbringing did they receive that would cause them to think voting for trump was ever a good idea?

Between that and extreme wealth inequality, you're not wrong.

I know it's in French but trouble is just starting: https://legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/03/14/pres-dun-tiers-des-republicains-de-moins-de-50-ans-declarent-etre-racistes-et-un-quart-antisemites/

Quiverful working as intended