Mark Penn, former Clinton pollster and longtime Democratic strategist, didn’t hold back in a heated appearance Wednesday on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, where he took aim at Gen Z’s political leanings — going so far as to dub them the “Useful Idiot Generation.”
Appearing on the show to discuss his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed of the same name, the 71-year-old Penn argued that young Americans, born roughly between 1997 and 2012, are embracing progressive ideals without fully understanding them.
“They’ve been taught to blame capitalism,” Penn told co-host Bill Hemmer. “Nearly 40% of young people now prefer socialism over capitalism. But to them, socialism doesn’t mean Venezuela or Cuba — it means free stuff: free rent, free buses. And we all know that never works. That kind of system always collapses. They just don’t have the historical knowledge.”
Hemmer, teeing up the segment, called Penn’s piece “full of humdingers” before asking him to explain his provocative views.
Penn argued that Gen Z’s worldview is shaped more by algorithms than actual civics. “You have a generation that lacks religious belief, has little sense of patriotism or traditional American values,” he said. “They’re being fed a nonstop stream of leftist ideology on social media — especially TikTok, which is still owned by the Chinese.”
He warned that these factors have made younger voters susceptible to extreme ideologies. “When you combine it all, it’s not surprising to see someone like Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate with overtly socialist and antisemitic views, rise in popularity,” he said.
Penn, who served as chief strategist for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential run, has drawn criticism from the left for his increasingly conservative commentary in recent years. Still, he doubled down in the segment, insisting that Gen Z’s growing disillusionment with capitalism is not grounded in reality.
“They’re not stupid,” Penn said. “They’re just being misled.”
