this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2025
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Summary

Donald Trump’s popularity among Generation Z voters has sharply declined since the 2024 election, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll.

His net favorability among 18-29-year-olds has dropped from +19 in November to -18, raising concerns for Republicans about sustaining youth support.

While Trump gained ground with young voters in 2024, recent policies—such as his mass deportation plan and targeting of DEI initiatives—may have contributed to this decline.

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[–] [email protected] 253 points 6 days ago (7 children)

Good news, having such an eye-awakening experience at an impressionable age can drive people left-wing for their lifetime. Same has happened during Trump-1, Bush-2 and Bush-3, (now in Canadian politics) the Walkerton Crisis, the Mulroney days, and now hopefully with Doug Ford.

Bad news: They already got played, and they might get played again in 4 years with billions of big tech money intended to distract the masses.

[–] gdog05 158 points 6 days ago (5 children)

We're going to be damned lucky if we get the chance for people to be played again.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 5 days ago

It will happen, might take a generation or three.

This is all so depressing... Its like there needs to be a massive war every so many years so people remember why it's important to have a democracy and be kind to one another.

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[–] SynonymousStoat 29 points 6 days ago (13 children)

We'll probably find out in 2 years when seats of Congress are up for election again.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 days ago (1 children)

How was he popular in the first place

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Gen Z desperately wants change, any change and Dems were against change.

That's my take at least.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

Half of Trump votes and a bigger part of abstentions are a protest directed at the economic system that, in the aftermath of Covid, got rich people richer while most people got reduced buying power in the form of inflation.

Then surprise surprise: sh!t policies and more inflation. Can Trump keep control of this growing rage or…

[–] pjwestin 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

There's also a lot of incel Zoomers. I think that's where the bulk or his youth support came from.

[–] Snowclone 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It's so stupid because it's entirely typical for guys 12-22 to not be getting laid, and the boys who get sucked into this extremist bullshit shouldn't be thinking they are victims of anything other than typical adolescents. The dumb kid to neo nazi pipeline is really shitty and clearly still works very effectively.

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[–] Rakonat 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It's more that Gen Z wants change without putting in effort. They (and millennials too) aren't voting in primaries at all let alone showing up in non Presidental elections so all parties are putting money and effort into candidates that appeal to older, more conservative voters that actual show up.

The younger people I work with and interact with on a regular basis that admit they voted for Trump say they didn't do it because he appealed to them but because they had some protest against Harris or Biden. Dems dropped the ball entirely this election but the majority of voters fail to turn out and prove their desire for change and progressive candidates is anything but talk.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

There wasn't a primary to vote against Harris in though. I'm not bashing you, it's just that was a mistake IMO.

[–] Rakonat 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

There was primary for congressional seats where the actual change Gen Z keeps saying they want will have to come from. And there was basically no participation there nationwide for their generation.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I see plenty of change coming right now from the office of the President though.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

I get that these kids were brainwashed a little but what bothers me is that it was never any secret what was happening to women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights but they went for it anyway. It wasn't some secret plot or trick, these people told us all exactly what they're about.

Even if they don't care about queer people, they happily sold out the rights of their own mothers because the word of some ex reality TV star meat head was more important to them. I feel like even if I was that age being bombarded by propaganda, I would've woken the fuck up the moment they started going after my mother and my sisters.

I actually saw a story on Reddit shortly after the election, that's a double whammy in this regard. It was a divorced woman who is currently in a relationship with another woman, telling the story of how her own son visited her and fessed up to voting for Trump and happily said out loud "I don't agree with gay people." Based on the reactions she described afterwards, this dumb piece of shit kid only realised that the people he was hating included his own mother, after it was already too late.

It's all fucked. I forgive these kids to an extent but I know that when I was that age, I did in fact have a sense of morality and could in fact use my own brains to figure things out for myself.

[–] seejur 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They voted for the memes, and are now in the process of realizing real life is not a meme

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Be aware: Newsweek put out a string of content before the election, making it clear that Harris was winning and that Democrats were in the clear when few other news outlets were being that optimistic. Recently, they've been putting out a lot of articles talking about how the Orange One is losing popularity. While I hope that's true, they definitely have a weird angle. Take their content with a big grain of salt.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Where can I buy large grained salt?

[–] hark 1 points 3 days ago

Kosher salt is large grained.

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[–] DarkFuture 111 points 5 days ago (6 children)

We thought GenZ was going to save us, but that was bullshit.

I work with a few in a DEEP BLUE state in a field in which the majority of my co-workers have been liberal and they're Trumpers. Morons who grew up on social media and had their minds warped by it. Fell for the alpha male bullshit too.

They aren't going to save us. They're pretty dumb.

[–] gmtom 56 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Surprise the iPad kid generation that were brought up on 4chsn derived troll culture are not bastions of virtue.

Like I have a zoomer nephew, and he's genuinely a good kid at heart, and his mum raised him well, but he also showed me things like videos of people harassing kids in video games until they meltdown like it was the funniest shit in the world, and also thinks Trump is super funny.

Being a shitty person is just good "content".

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[–] Professorozone 63 points 5 days ago (6 children)

I mean who knew he would be against DEI and immigrants?

[–] pulsewidth 37 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I think these polls are bullshit. The same gen Z kids who voted Trump after being brainwashed for years watching Rogan, Shapiro, etc rail on DEI, trans, 'wokeism' and 'open borders' haven't suddenly changed their opinion once Trump's started enacting policies that aim to enact those goals.

These kids just recognize how unpopular these actions are in the wider community and are lying to pollsters now. It's virtue signalling. They'll continue to vote right-wing imho

[–] DiagnosedADHD 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It could be as simple as losing access to grants, scholarships, and general funding. Add to that any of them hoping for a government job doing something they're passionate about (wildlife/park/environmental sciences) only to have their future prospects crushed by an ignorant foreigner.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Little too late for that…

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago (1 children)

been kind of sad for me, the process of realizing these kids were fucking stupid.

i had really high hopes for some reason.

[–] P00ptart 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Growing up with social media.

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[–] [email protected] 84 points 6 days ago (8 children)

It’s almost like a ton of zoomers weren’t paying attention to what the fuck he was doing last time around.

[–] [email protected] 75 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

If you think about it, a TON of zoomers were maybe 10 years old when he started his shit.

It's literally all they have known for most of their formative years. I blame their parents more then them. They never talked to their kids about what he's doing apparently.

I tell my two kids that what he is doing is evil, and anyone who follows him is broken in some form or another. I tell them ALL the stuff our country has done, good and bad, and to keep learning, keep questioning, and most of all: beware of people like him. They are world enders.

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[–] stickly 31 points 5 days ago (1 children)

A lot of people were the same age when GWB was signing the Patriot Act and didn't realize the consequences of his presidency until much later. Young people are impressionable but they do change.

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[–] CharlesDarwin 54 points 5 days ago (7 children)

Cannot wait for the types of gen z voters that voted for a dipshit like donvict to turn around and blame "boomers" for their issues.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 5 days ago

They kinda already are. Though they seem to be blaming the Democrats for not doing enough to convince them to not be stupid.

Being raised by social media has caused some issues with them. They seem to value the ability to say whatever you need to say to get to the top of the algorithm and aren't able to question the algorithm itself.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 days ago (1 children)

One would think watching Nazi salutes on inauguration day of a GOP president going blitzkrieg all around the world, would be enough to forget about them reaching the White House again... but, seriously, this is the USA.

[–] randoot 17 points 5 days ago (1 children)

You assume they read about history and know what Nazis were beyond tiktok memes.

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[–] RufusFirefly 14 points 4 days ago

Either all of the polling sites are lying or that impotent clown still has a 47% approval rating. Why? I have no idea.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I don't trust polls anymore. Trump wasn't supposed to win '16 and it wasn't supposed to be a blowout '24 according to polls.

[–] Pacattack57 29 points 5 days ago (3 children)

What sucks is he only won the popular vote by about 2 million votes. A lot of these states misrepresent their population with the electoral college and gerrymandering.

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[–] DrFistington 37 points 5 days ago (2 children)

That's odd because the only Gen z people who liked Trump were the paid Russian propogandists that were creating all the fake bullshit memes for him

[–] [email protected] 44 points 5 days ago (31 children)

I listened in on a conversation between two young male Kroger union members before the election (the store is unionized so maybe that was an assumption, it's a right to work state...)

They both agreed they were voting for Trump. I can't speak to their unspoken motivations but what I can tell you is they absolutely voted on vibes and didn't have a goddamn clue what was coming for them.

I don't know what brain rotted the Gen Z boys in a way that didn't work on the Gen Z girls but I can tell you it wasn't fake, those kids are not alright.

Maybe this will be Gen Z's Afghanistan and Iraq, the events that push them left against Republican abuse, but I'm not sure they'll have a chance when they're getting a steady diet of algorithmic propaganda.

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[–] thisorthatorwhatever 42 points 6 days ago (14 children)

I hate articles like this. He won, he is in power. He will be in power for 4 years. His popularity doesn't matter anymore.

[–] [email protected] 80 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Does if you want a revolution.

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[–] cm0002 55 points 6 days ago

The popularity of the President has a great effect on what happens in the midterm elections.

Ofc that's dependant on us having a free and fair midterm election by then

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[–] newthrowaway20 24 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Well yeah, the memes have stopped.

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