CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Democratic supporter and TikTok influencer Harry Sisson is helping to lead a charge among young prospective voters who are now making a digital push while backing Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House in November.
Sisson, who has more than 1.2 million followers on TikTok, is among the social media influencers attending this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago and pushing for change.
Although Sisson, 21, says his generation doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to voting, he is energized to advocate for younger voters to engage in the political process.
“We don’t get out at similar rates as the older generations do,” Sisson told NewsNation. “My message is that this is our future. Older generations who have higher (voting) rates than us, they’re not going be impacted as much as we will be by climate change. We have to think ‘future’ and realize it’s affecting us now and the future as well. We have to focus on that at the ballot box.”
Much of Sisson’s social media content is driven by politics. NBC News reported that he is now leading the youthful and progressive charge in getting more people to back Democratic candidates. In addition to his more than 1.2 million TikTok followers, Sisson also has 256,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter) and more than 16,000 followers on Instagram.
Yet, while this week will bring Harris’ coronation as her party’s nominee for president, protests that have taken place outside of the United Center have drawn major attention.
At least 72 demonstrators were arrested Tuesday as protesters clashed with police a day after the March on the DNC, which was led by pro-Palestinian organizations, kicked the four-day event off. Arrests were also made after a portion of marchers broke away from the rest and breached a secured area near the United Center,
While demonstrators have claimed that the United States’ support to Israel has led to genocide in Gaza, Sisson believes the situation will be handed “infinitely better” by Harris’ administration than should former President Donald Trump return to the White House.
“With these protesters out there, I think there’s a valid conversation to be had about the Middle East,” Sisson told NewsNation. “I mean, it’s a real issue. It’s obviously tragic. I don’t think (protesters) are going about it the right way. I don’t think that breaking through police barriers is the right way to get a message across.
“But I think that Harris (and running mate Tim) Walz should absolutely be listening to everybody involved in this and try to come to the best solution, and we know that President Biden is working 24/7 to get that done.”