‘Things are pretty chaotic lately’: Young voters swung to the right for Trump in 2024 - and they’ve abandoned him just as quickly

Young U.S. voters are starting to turn on President Donald Trump over concerns about his economic agenda, a new report reveals.

Trump saw a surge of support from Generation Z voters (born between 1997 and 2012) during the last presidential election. But now, young Americans are abandoning Trump “faster than any other voting bloc,” according to a new report in The Atlantic by Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark.

Longwell, who runs weekly focus groups with voters, reports that many young Trump voters initially backed him over his economic promises. As Trump enters his second year back in the White House, some young voters have said they’re disappointed and concerned about the economy, according to Longwell.

Kim, a Gen-Z Trump voter from Virginia identified only by her first name, said during a January focus group: “There are things that are very disappointing and very rough right now.”

Lizabel, a Florida resident whose last name was also withheld, reportedly said “things are pretty chaotic lately.”

“You just see all this stuff on the news, and you see a lot of people are struggling to find jobs. A lot of people are feeling kind of pessimistic about what things are going on,” she added.

Sam, a voter from Minnesota, also cited concerns about “affordability” and the “unemployment rate for youth,” Longwell reports.

When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Kush Desai touted Trump’s economic policies.

“In just one year, President Trump’s policies have cooled inflation, raised real wages, accelerated GDP growth, and slashed the prices of prescription drugs and gasoline. Americans can rest assured that, as these policies continue taking effect, the best is yet to come,” Desai told The Independent.

A Wall Street Journal poll published last month found that two-thirds of voters ages 18-29 disapprove of the president’s priorities. The survey also revealed that nearly half of voters under 30 said they would back a Democratic candidate if the 2026 midterm elections were held today, while 43 percent said they’d choose a Republican.

A poll conducted this month by Economist/YouGov found that 25 percent of U.S. adults ages 18-29 approve of the way Trump is handling his job, while 67 percent disapprove. This marks a significant change from the results of a February 2025 Economist/YouGov poll, which found 50 percent of U.S. adults under 30 approved of Trump and 42 percent disapproved.

This comes as Trump braces for the 2026 midterm elections.

Historical trends show that the president’s party typically loses seats in a midterm election, which could mean trouble for Republicans, who are currently in the majority in both chambers of Congress.

While midterm elections are still months away, recent surveys have shown that Democrats running for Congress currently have a modest advantage, according to The New York Times’ polling aggregator.