Gen Z Is Furious With Biden Over Gaza. For Maxwell Frost, It’s Complicated.

The 27-year-old lawmaker is caught between the president and his progressive activist roots.

Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla
Rep. Maxwell Frost has emphasized the role of young Americans in elections. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP

Joe Biden has an undeniable Gen Z problem. An increasing number of young voters now see him as “genocide Joe,” horrified by Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza killing 28,000 Palestinians, which has been documented live on TikTok and Instagram. Almost three-quarters of young voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of the conflict, polls show.

The first and only Gen Z member of Congress, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, is swinging in the middle, campaigning for Biden while trying to keep the peace with the young voters in the progressive movement he built his political career on.

Just two years ago, activist Lamia Moukaddam was featured in his campaign video, fist up on a pole in Orlando painted with the phrase “Free Palestine” (though most of the letters on the pole were cut out of the shot). In the same ad, Frost narrates: “I’m not a politician, I’m an organizer.”