Trump’s approval rating nosedives to new low with young voters

President Donald Trump’s net approval among voters aged 18 to 34 has fallen to minus 44, an all-time low for that age group in Echelon Insights polling.

The deterioration is significant before the 2026 midterms because Trump’s sharply improved performance with younger voters helped broaden the coalition that returned him to the White House in 2024.

Republican candidates now face the possibility that some of those voters could withdraw their support or stay home, although presidential approval does not by itself predict turnout or congressional voting.

Key Points

• Trump’s net approval among 18- to 34-year-olds dropped 14 points in one month, from minus 30 in July to a record-low minus 44 in August.
• His standing with that group has declined 51 points from a net positive 7 in January 2025.
• Overall net approval improved from minus 23 to minus 19 between July and August, creating a 25-point gap between younger voters and the electorate as a whole.
• Voters aged 18 to 29 backed Former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump by just four points in 2024, compared with their 25-point preference for Joe Biden in 2020.

Why It Matters

Younger voters did not deliver Trump an outright majority in 2024, but his 47 percent share represented a major improvement on his performance four years earlier.

Losing ground with a group that helped him narrow a longstanding Republican deficit could complicate the party’s effort to hold Congress.

Trump Hits A Record Low

Some 28 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds approved of Trump’s job performance in the August survey, while 72 percent disapproved.

That produced a net rating of minus 44, the lowest recorded for the age group across the Echelon Insights polling series reviewed by Newsweek.

The nationwide poll surveyed 1,002 registered voters in the likely electorate from August 13 to 17 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for the full sample.

Across the entire electorate, 40 percent approved of Trump’s performance and 59 percent disapproved, leaving him at minus 19.

July told a different story. His youth rating stood at minus 30, while the overall figure was minus 23.

That survey of 1,004 voters in the likely electorate was conducted from July 9 to 13, with a full-sample margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

How The Divide Opened

The age split was barely visible at the beginning of Trump’s second term. In January 2025, his net approval measured positive 7 among 18- to 34-year-olds and positive 8 overall.

By July of that year, the figures had fallen to minus 16 and minus 8, respectively. Twelve months later, younger voters registered minus 30 against minus 23 nationally.

August broke that pattern. Trump recovered four points overall while falling another 14 points with younger adults, turning a modest age difference into a substantial divide.

Why The Youth Vote Matters To Trump

CIRCLE’s analysis of AP VoteCast found that voters aged 18 to 29 favored Harris by 51 percent to 47 percent in 2024. Four years earlier, the same age group had favored Biden over Trump by 25 points.

That shift was uneven. Young men preferred Trump by 56 percent to 42 percent, while young women backed Harris by 58 percent to 41 percent. Voters aged 25 to 29 gave Trump a two-point advantage, although those aged 18 to 24 favored Harris by 10 points.

Economic concerns were central to the change. Forty percent of young voters named the economy and jobs as the country’s most important issue, and those prioritizing the economy were substantially more likely to support Trump.

AP VoteCast interviewed more than 120,000 registered voters nationwide from October 28 through November 5, 2024. Its overall margin of sampling error for voters was plus or minus 0.4 percentage points, with greater uncertainty for age and other subgroups.

Economic Strain Remains Central

Separate research from HIT Strategies for Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, or URGE, found 83 percent of registered voters aged 18 to 29 dissatisfied with the country’s direction.

Housing costs concerned 95 percent, while 87 percent worried about affording basic needs.

A total of 83 percent were concerned about mass layoffs affecting their job security and 81 percent feared artificial intelligence would make it harder to find work.

Yet dissatisfaction had not produced widespread political apathy. Half said they had boycotted a business during the previous year, 48 percent had signed a petition and 47 percent had posted about politics online.

HIT Strategies surveyed 2,950 registered voters from June 24 to July 9 using an opt-in web panel and text-to-web contacts.

The study included a weighted national base of 1,000 and demographic and state oversamples, with a reported margin of error of plus or minus 2.85 percentage points.

Because the survey covered ages 18 to 29 and used a different methodology, it cannot explain the movement in Echelon Insights’ 18-to-34 sample.

It does show that affordability, employment and confidence in institutions are prominent concerns as the midterms approach.

What The White House Said

The administration has pushed back on poor polling by pointing to its economic record.

“No other president in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement.

“The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world, and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect.”

What Happens Next

The political test will come in the November midterms.

Youth turnout, congressional vote preference and future Echelon Insights readings will show whether the latest result is temporary volatility or evidence that part of Trump’s 2024 coalition is moving away from him.

Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.