Young voters abandoning Trump in droves over 'the economy and Epstein'

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Although Donald Trump has run for president four times — first with a short-lived Reform Party campaign in 2000, then three times as the GOP nominee — 2024 marked the first time Trump won the national popular vote. It was a close election: Trump only won the popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent, but he made it past the finish line and successfully attracted voters beyond his hardcore MAGA base. Those new Trump voters include Latinos, independents, Gen-Z, and members of the Manosphere.

But in an op-ed published by Bloomberg News, Nia-Malika Henderson argues that 2024 Trump voters under 35 are having buyer's remorse.

"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," explains Henderson, who formerly covered politics for CNN and the Washington Post. "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."

Henderson continues, "In February, Trump had a 92 percent approval rating among voters under 35 who cast a ballot for him. Since then, his approval rating has slumped to 69 percent — a loss of 23 percentage points."

According to Henderson, many Gen-Z and Manosphere voters are frustrated because of "the economy and Jeffrey Epstein."

"Trump has long been a master of spin," Henderson argues. "But it is much harder to spin people's everyday reality, which for some young men, means little upward mobility. A May survey by the Young Men's Research Initiative shows that 47 percent of men under 30 say the economy is getting worse."

Young Men's Research Initiative founder Aaron Smith told Henderson that young men are "worried about their future" and feel intense dissatisfaction because they lack "a clear path to the middle class."

"The GOP is betting that young voters, particularly men, will become a permanent part of the base," Henderson observes. "Yet, failing to deliver on Epstein could cost them ground. Especially if their policies aren't giving young men a brighter economic future."

Nia-Malika Henderson's full article for Bloomberg News is available at this link (subscription required)