More than 100 days into President Donald Trump‘s second term, a surprising trend is emerging: growing support from young adults.
Once seen as a demographic firmly aligned with Democrats, younger Americans are showing signs of drift and are increasingly warming to Trump’s message, polls show.
Experts told Newsweek that this is driven less by enthusiasm for Trump’s agenda than by deep frustration with the economy, political institutions, and the direction of the country.
The shift has been evident in multiple recent polls. For example, the J.L. Partners/Daily Mail poll, conducted between May 13 and 14 among 1,003 registered voters, showed that Trump’s approval rating among 18-29 year olds jumped 6 points from the previous poll, when it stood at 44 percent.
An even bigger increase was seen in the latest YouGov/Economist poll, conducted between May 19 and 16 among 1,710 adults. In the survey, Trump’s approval rating among Gen Z voters jumped 7 points, from 28 percent last week to 35 percent this week. Meanwhile, his disapproval rating dropped by 11 points to 51 percent.
The latest InsiderAdvantage/Trafalgar Group poll, conducted between May 17 and 19 among 1,000 likely voters, showed a smaller increase of 2 points, with 52 percent of 18- 39-year-olds (which also includes millennials) approving of Trump’s job performance.
It comes after last week’s YouGov/Economist poll showed that Trump’s approval rating among millennials had made a sharp rebound. Americans aged 30 to 44 approved of Trump’s job performance by 46 percent in May, up from 38 percent in April, although the latest poll showed that it had dropped to 42 percent.
Trump’s bounce-back with young voters comes after weeks of sagging numbers tied to economic anxiety and fallout from his “Liberation Day” tariffs. The policy move rattled markets, prompting a sharp sell-off before an eventual recovery. But public sentiment did not rebound as quickly as the Dow. Polls throughout April showed sliding approval ratings—not only for Trump’s overall job performance but also for his handling of the economy.
However, the polls now suggest that the bleeding has stopped.
Melissa Deckman and Lucas Walsh, experts in generational voting trends, told Newsweek that this has less to do with deepening alignment with Trump’s agenda among young voters than it is a reflection of their disillusionment with Democratic leadership, frustration with the economy, and, therefore, growing distrust in traditional politics.
“Compared with older Americans, Gen Z is far less trustful of political institutions, so their inability to afford rent and pay back their college loans, amidst a tough market, was the biggest factor shaping their vote decision (in 2024),” Deckman, the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, said.
Between 2020 and 2024, both rent and student loan debts in the U.S. experienced notable increases, impacting young Americans’ financial burdens.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of renting a primary residence rose by approximately 22.6 percent from 2020 to 2024. This means that a rental costing $1,000 in 2020 would have increased to about $1,226 by 2024.
However, other analyses suggest even steeper increases. Zillow reported that average apartment rents increased by 29 percent, and single-family home rents surged by 43 percent since April 2020.
During the same period, student loan debt also saw significant growth. The total national student loan debt increased from approximately $1.69 trillion in 2020 to about $1.78 trillion in 2024, marking a 5.1 percent rise. Such increases can be partly attributed to inflation, which peaked at 9.1 percent in 2022.
Trump has repeatedly sought to blame his predecessor for inflation. In the 2024 presidential debates, Trump accused then-President Joe Biden of “destroying the economy,” alleging that inflation reached unprecedented levels under their leadership.
Deckman suggested that this kind of rhetoric sowed the seed of distrust in the Democratic Party among young people in 2024. Polls show that since Trump began his second term, the Democrats have failed to regain that trust.
“It is pretty clear that younger voters have soured on Democrats last election cycle,” Deckman said.
Polls conducted in the wake of Trump’s win have shown that the Democrats are more unpopular than ever. And that is also true among young people.
The 50th edition of the Harvard Youth Poll, which surveyed 2,096 Americans aged 18-29 in April via Ipsos Public Affairs’ Knowledge Panel, found that just 23 percent of young Americans (ages 18-29) approve of congressional Democrats, down sharply from 42 percent in spring 2017.
The poll also found that young voters increasingly see Republicans as better on the economy. Many criticize Democrats for being “elitist” (51 percent), overly focused on “political correctness” (70 percent) and prioritizing “other people” over their concerns (54 percent), according to the poll.
Additionally, a Yale Youth Poll, which surveyed 4,100 registered voters between April 1 and April 3, including an oversample of 2,024 voters aged 18-29, showed that young voters are now overwhelmingly Republican. Voters aged 18-21 leaned Republican by 11.7 points when asked who they would support in the 2026 Congressional elections, while voters aged 22-29 favored Democrats by 6.4 points.
Lucas Walsh, who is a professor at Monash University in Australia, said that dissatisfaction with the Democratic party among young people does not fully explain why they are increasingly supporting Trump.
“We can attribute some of this surge to dissatisfaction with the Democrats at the last election, but most young voters have a distrust in government,” Monash said. The Harvard Youth Poll found that only 19 percent of young voters trust the federal government.
He added that such distrust in government is at the heart of why young people are increasingly leaning Republican.
“Perhaps it is Trump’s image of disrupting Washington orthodoxies that is appealing to this longer term distrust in federal government,” he said.
A Young Men Research Initiative (YMRI) study showed that social media has played a big role in eroding trust in politicians among male Gen Z voters. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram serve as key news sources for young men, and algorithmic amplification of negative content often erodes confidence in whoever is in power.
During his campaign, Trump capitalized on this, appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience, the Shawn Ryan Show, Theo Von’s podcast and Lex Fridman’s podcast. All four podcasts draw a largely young, male audience. Deckman said this was a “smart decision” by Trump.
“Gen Z rejects legacy media at higher rates than older Americans and it was a smart strategy of the Trump campaign to make direct appeals to young men on digital shows hosted by Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Logan Paul, and others that have a predominantly male, younger audience last fall,” she said.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris declined to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience, a decision YMRI co-founder Jackson Katz previously told Newsweek he found “disappointing.”
“I think that would have been a very powerful statement to young men,” he said.
“It would have been a statement to them that she sees them, she cares about them, and she wants to do whatever she can to help them. Because I think a big part of the narrative that’s emerged over the last decade is that Democrats hate white men, or they don’t care about white men. They don’t care about the struggles of white men, especially young white men. And I think that’s completely untrue.”
Since Trump took office again, he has continued to sow distrust in traditional institutions, including the press. In March 2025, he escalated his attacks by suggesting that major news outlets like CNN and MSNBC were engaging in illegal activities, a claim lacking substantiation. He also banned the Associated Press from the White House press pool after the news agency refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico, as it is still known internationally, by Trump’s new moniker, the Gulf of America.
Meanwhile, in April, the White House began holding press briefings for MAGA influencers, whom they called the “new media.” That included YouTubers Jake and Logan Paul and mixed martial artist Conor McGregor, who have primarily young male audiences.
In June, Trump appeared on Logan Paul’s podcast, Impaulsive, where the two discussed a wide range of topics, including aliens and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Jake Paul contributed $10,000 to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.
Shauna Daly, a cofounder of the liberal YMRI, explained the significance of appealing to young male voters.
“In order to win, he needs to change the electorate,” she told NPR. “And young men historically are less likely to vote, but if he can turn them out, if he can get them to vote, that could change the electorate enough to give him a margin of victory.”
But Deckman doubts that Trump’s popularity among young voters will last, particularly amid such a volatile economy.
“I suspect that once companies such as Walmart increase prices as a reaction to the tariffs, Trump’s favorability will drop with many groups, including younger Americans,” she said.
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