Not cool anymore? Trump sees massive drop in young people support after riding them to an election win

Trump won nearly 50 percent of youth voters in the 2024 election. A new poll shows President Donald Trump’s much-vaunted success with younger voters seems to have stalled, as his approval rating among that demographic continues to fall. The increasing scepticism among young Americans comes after Trump won big with youth voters in his race against former Vice President Kamala Harris. But the president has tried to inflate this win, claiming in December that he “won youth by 34 points.” While most reputable exit polls show Trump was up with youth voters, they also show him within just points of Harris — not 34 points above her.

Trump reportedly worked the youth vote by consulting his 18-year-old son Barron Trump throughout his campaign. Barron, a first-year student at New York University, reportedly pitched and approved key media personalities popular among young men for his father to sit down with. These included YouTuber Logan Paul, comedian Theo Von and podcaster Joe Rogan. Trump’s drop is popularity is mirrored by his “first buddy” Elon Musk, the same Economist/YouGov poll shows. Some 44 percent of respondents had a “very unfavorable” view of the billionaire, drastically up from 36 percent last week.

This comes as the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency continues to wield massive power over the federal government. Voters are feeling DOGE’s effects too, with 63 percent of respondents believing that Musk has a lot of influence, an increase from 51 percent last week, the Economist/YouGov poll shows. Trump handed Musk and DOGE even more power this week, after he signed an executive order requiring agencies to cooperate with the agency.

Those polled seemed to acknowledge, and largely disagree, Trump’s faith in Musk, with just 18 percent of respondents wanting X owner to have a lot of influence. When a reporter asked for Musk’s response to criticisms that his efforts constitute a “hostile takeover” of the executive branch, he responded: “The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get.”.

Many of Trump’s key policies are also proving incredibly unpopular, with only his ban on transgender women and girls participating in women’s sports gaining widespread support. But the rest of his policies face low approval ratings. Just 36 percent of respondents approve of deporting U.S. citizens convicted of crimes to foreign prisons, while just 35 percent approve of ending humanitarian aid to foreign countries.

His worst-rated policies are abolishing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, with just 16 percent of respondents approving, while 58 percent of people disapprove of closing the Department of Education. His policy of ending a free online tax filing system run by the IRS has also proven to be massively unpopular, with just 15 percent of those asked approving. The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.