'Humiliation': Young MAGA voters explain why they’re ditching Trump

Young voters who cast for President Donald Trump in 2024 have delivered a dismal assessment of his second term, describing the “humiliation” they’ve experienced due to his policies and behavior. This is according to a New York Times focus group, the findings of which were published on Friday and reveal growing anger among young MAGA voters who are disappointed by his performance.

“We’re a humiliation across the world in terms of foreign policy,” said Zachary, a 25-year-old scientist from Missouri who voted for Trump two years ago. “The United States is not what it once was, and we can’t seem to drive costs down for the average American.”

According to the Daily Beast, “Zachary added that Trump’s second stint in the White House has left him completely disillusioned with the American Dream, telling the Times that the oft-cited mantra of ‘work hard, get ahead’ no longer holds true. ‘I feel like working hard and having a grinding mindset is more of the way to meet the bare minimum,’ Zachary said. ‘I’m always working. I’m doing stuff on my off time. And I can save exactly $120 every paycheck.’"

Caleb, a 24-year-old management consultant who lives in Maine, expressed similar sentiments, telling the Times, “When I see people working 60-plus hours a week in a trade and not able to make a dent in cost of living, it does feel like it’s gotten tougher, at least, to play by the rules.”

Both gave Trump a mere one out of five rating in regard to his second-term performance. As Zachary explained, “I’d say 1 mostly because I feel there’s a high level of corruption and a lack of transparency within this administration that I definitely either didn’t see or didn’t notice in the first Trump term.” What’s more, said Zachary, “I feel like he wants to make it mostly a country for people that are already well off. Most of the policy that comes down isn’t benefiting 80 percent to 90 percent of Americans.”

Caleb noted that “it’s hard for me to look at the status quo and not see it as objectively worse when it comes to policy,” asserting that the changes he’s seen have primarily been “reactive to other issues that were caused during the administration.” In other words, Trump keeps having to put out the fires he himself has lit.

Caleb said he would urge Trump to “focus on sustainable change,” while Zachary says the president “needs to be working more for the working-class, average American, rather than being concerned with his own image.”

Trump’s job assessment wasn’t much better among those who rated him higher. Kim, a 25-year-old medical scribe from Virginia who rated Trump two out of five said that “nothing seems affordable or feasible right now” and that “the way that he’s acting has just been disappointing.” Christian, a 25-year-old curriculum adviser from Tennessee, gave the president three out of five, but noted that Trump “forgets about certain people in different tax brackets” and that he “makes decisions for maybe wealthier people in the front of his mind.”

The results of the focus group come as recent polling shows Trump’s approval has plunged to -45 among Gen-Z voters.