At one Kentucky bar, young Republicans wrestle with their disappointment in Trump and their party

Republican State Rep. TJ Roberts, 28, talks during a meeting of young Republicans at a bar in Covington, Ky., Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)2026-05-21T09:02:06Z COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — On a recent evening in northern Kentucky, over a dozen young Republicans gathered with beers and brightly colored cocktails at a bar called dEcORa, its neon interior as eccentric as its capitalization, ribbing each other and picking apart the presidential administration they welcomed with high hopes last year. By now, their enthusiasm for Donald Trump had curdled into frustration.“I absolutely do not regret voting for Trump in 2024,” said Nathaniel Showalter, 34, who sat in front of a concrete pillar covered in spray paint. “I can’t wait for him to get out of office.”What poured out that night under the bar’s low lights was a sense that the Republican establishment — which they initially applauded Trump for disrupting, but which some now see him sustaining — had forsaken them. That festering feeling has widened a generational gap between younger and older conservatives as the party slowly begins to consider a future without Trump in charge. The crew at the bar see Trump’s war with Iran as a betrayal of his campaign promises. They are living in an economy that appears as shaky as it was before his inauguration. And they mourn the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist they viewed as their lone spokesperson with influence in the White House. The defeat of Republican Rep. Thomas Massie — who had earned a younger and anti-establishment following while feuding with Trump — in Tuesday’s primary cost them one of their strongest allies in Congress. Read More “There seems to be a concerted effort to keep the next generation out on the right,” said TJ Roberts, the group’s lanky leader. A 28-year-old state representative, he was the only one at the bar wearing a suit. “There’s this sense of entitlement among the establishment on the right. ‘Well, I’m better than the alternative.’ Well, sure, but a stomach flu is preferable to stomach cancer. I’d rather have neither.” Roberts convenes the group every month to talk politics, this time with The Associated Press, and he feared that young people like those gathered at dEcORa were “going to live a shorter, less prosperous life than your parents.”“We have to make sure that young Republicans have a voice in Washington, D.C.,” he said. ‘It’s why we need a change in leadership’The boisterous group, all men in their 20s and 30s, crowded around a low table painted with kaleidoscope art. They made ribald jokes and debated each other, sometimes slipping into impressions of Trump or conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.Although views of Trump’s presidency aren’t uniform — some like his second term more than others — they were all animated by anger over the war with Iran. To many in this group, Operation Epic Fury is not just “a complete betrayal of his promises,” as Michael Gartman, 32, put it. It’s evidence that their voices have been drowned out by the political establishment, defense contractors and megadonors who they see as pushing Israel’s agenda. Logan Edge, a 30-year-old gun lobbyist who sported a Hawaiian-style shirt and Lincoln-esque beard, mimicked Trump talking about Miriam Adelson, the billionaire who Trump once said advised him on Israel. “‘Oh Miriam, she’s over there, she loves Israel, maybe more than America,’” he said. He dropped the president’s intonation and said, “You can’t piss on my shoes and tell me it’s raining.”Across from Logan sat Andrew Cooperrider, a 33-year-old who hosts a conservative podcast about Kentucky politics, and his son, 14-year-old Leo. The teenager aspires to be an underwater welder and suggested to his father that he could get training by enlisting in the U.S. Navy.“And I said absolutely not,” the elder Cooperrider said, “not with everything going on, my son is not getting into the military right now and go fight these wars for these psychopaths.”“Thank you!” someone shouted, as Cooperrider added that Leo can pursue the trade outside the military.Edge jumped in, saying that he and his father, who served in Desert Storm and Iraq, had visited Arlington National Cemetery.There’s a phone app that can guide you to specific grave sites, he said, his voice deepening with emotion. “And me and my dad spent the day finding his friends. And it was very emotional, very tough. And you can get on the Metro and go to the next Metro stop and the first thing you see is Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, and I said to my dad, ‘Look what you’re about to see.’” Edge paused. “It brings tears to my eyes,” he said, pushing his chair back and dropping his gaze from the group. Roberts leaned over and asked if Logan was OK.“Why do my friends have to be over there?” said Angel Figueroa, 27, who served in the military and knows people based in the Middle East right now. “It would devastate me to see one of my friends getting

Republican State Rep. TJ Roberts, 28, talks during a meeting of young Republicans at a bar in Covington, Ky., Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)2026-05-21T09:02:06Z COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — On a recent evening in northern Kentucky, over a dozen young Republicans gathered with beers and brightly colored cocktails at a bar called dEcORa, its…

Republican State Rep. TJ Roberts, 28, talks during a meeting of young Republicans at a bar in Covington, Ky., Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)2026-05-21T09:02:06Z COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — On a recent evening in northern Kentucky, over a dozen young Republicans gathered with beers and brightly colored cocktails at a bar called dEcORa, its neon interior as eccentric as its capitalization, ribbing each other and picking apart the presidential administration they welcomed with high hopes last year. By now, their enthusiasm for Donald Trump…