Nia-Malika Henderson, Columnist

Young Voters Who Swung Right Are Already Regretting It

Trump convinced voters under 35 — especially men — to give him a chance. They are souring on what they see.

August 26, 2025 at 10:30 AM UTC

Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.

Happier times.
*Photographer: Al Drago/Getty Images North America*

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One of the most surprising datapoints from President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory was his strength among young voters, a demographic that is typically a core part of the Democratic base. In 2020, President Joe Biden won this age group (18-29) by 24 points. Yet, in 2024, Trump closed the gap, with former Vice President Kamala Harris winning this same group by just 4 points.

Now, a Pew Research Center poll shows Trump steadily losing ground with a larger young cohort, revealing weaknesses in the very group that helped him win in November. In February, Trump had a 92% approval rating among voters under 35 who cast a ballot for him. Since then, his approval rating has slumped to 69%, a loss of 23 percentage points, which is the largest drop of any age group among Trump’s voters.