During the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump made a lot of inroads with Gen-Z — much to the frustration of Democratic strategists and supporters of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. And the economy, according to polls, was a significant factor.
However, Gen-Z voters who went for Trump last year weren't necessarily hardcore MAGA Republicans. Many of them, polls showed, were independents who were frustrated by inflation and decided to give him a chance.
In an article published on October 3, NBC News reporters Ben Kamisar and Bridget Bowman examine focus groups consisting of Gen-Z members who voted for Trump in 2024. And many of them are still frustrated by the economy.
The groups were organized by Syracuse University and the research firms Engagious and Sago, and NBC News was invited to observe them.
"President Donald Trump's victory last year was fueled in part by improvement among young voters," Kamisar and Bowman explain. "But new focus groups reveal why some young voters who backed Trump are beginning to sour on his administration's approach to immigration and the economy…. These voters were a key part of Trump's coalition in 2024, as he made gains among 18-to-29-year-old voters, especially young men, compared to his 2020 loss."
The NBC News journalists add, "Trump won 43 percent of young voters in this age group last year after winning 36 percent of them in 2020, according to the NBC News Exit Poll. The exit poll also showed Trump winning 49 percent of young men in 2024, compared to 48 percent for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, while Trump trailed among young women, winning 38 percent of that group."
One of the Gen-Z voters NBC News interviewed was 22-year-old Nevada resident Anthony, a registered Republican who expressed frustration with Trump's handling of the economy and immigration.
Anthony lamented, "I believe my trust in the administration has completely nosedived because of how he's mishandled things."
Katelyn R., a 21-year-old independent from Wisconsin, said, "I approve of how he's doing with the economy and things like that, but I don't approve of how certain situations are being handled with deportation."
Richard B., a 22-year-old Pennsylvania resident, argued, "I feel like the transparency as well is an issue — not just with tariffs, but also, feeling like he switched positions when talking about the Epstein files from saying it's a huge deal to saying that: 'Oh, it's not really a big deal.'"
Read the full NBC News article at this link.