Young Americans are souring on President Donald Trump at a faster rate than any other generation, and the driving force behind that shift is almost entirely economic. A new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey finds that three-quarters of Gen Z adults now disapprove of the president — a 12-point swing toward disapproval since the last comparable survey was conducted — with inflation and the rising cost of living at the center of their frustration.
A generation turning away faster than any other
The poll, which surveyed 3,009 adults between the ages of 18 and 29 as part of a broader sample of 32,433 respondents collected between March 30 and April 13, found that 76% of Gen Z disapproves of Trump while just 24% approve. That represents a notable acceleration from an already unfavorable baseline. The share of young adults who strongly disapprove of the president stands at 60%, reflecting a 14-point increase from the last time this type of focused Gen Z survey was conducted in August and September of last year. Gen Z is now more disapproving of Trump than any other generation polled, including millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers.
The trajectory is particularly striking given where things stood just over a year ago. Young voters shifted toward Trump by a net of 13 points between the 2020 and 2024 elections, driven largely by financial pressures. More than a year into his second term, those pressures have not eased — and for many young Americans, they appear to have intensified.
The economy is driving pessimism across party lines
Economic anxiety is the clearest thread running through the poll’s findings. Young adults identified the economy as the issue that matters most to them, and eight in 10 said they disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation and the cost of living. Nearly half of Gen Z respondents — 48% — named inflation and rising costs as their top economic concern, up from 40% in the previous survey. That shift occurred across party lines, with young Republicans, independents and Democrats all more likely to prioritize the issue now than they were last year.
Gas prices have added to the strain in recent weeks, with new highs tied in part to volatility stemming from the Iran war. Thirty-eight percent of Gen Z respondents said their personal finances are worse today than they were a year ago, a 7-point increase. Among young Republicans specifically, the share who said their finances have deteriorated rose 9 points, from 12% to 21%.
Cracks appearing even among MAGA supporters
Perhaps the most telling finding in the poll is the erosion taking place within Trump’s most loyal young base. While an overwhelming majority of young adults who identify with the MAGA movement — 86% — still approve of the president, the share who disapprove climbed 8 points, from 6% to 14%. On the specific question of Trump‘s handling of inflation, disapproval among young MAGA adults jumped 16 points, from 13% to 29%, since September.
The partisan composition of Gen Z conservatives also appears to be shifting. The poll found that 66% of young Republicans now identify more with the traditional Republican Party rather than the MAGA movement specifically — a 10-point drop in MAGA identification compared to last year. Meanwhile, young Democrats moved slightly in the opposite direction, with 71% now identifying more with the progressive movement compared to 69% a year ago.
Wrong track sentiment reaches new heights
Eight in 10 members of Gen Z now believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, a 12-point shift from last summer. That pessimism has spread into corners of the electorate where it was far less common just a year ago. Among young Republicans, the share who say the country is on the wrong track rose 16 points, leaving that group nearly evenly split at 49% wrong track versus 51% right track. Among young independents, wrong track sentiment stands at 85%, up 13 points from 72%.
With midterm elections approaching and control of Congress at stake, the accelerating erosion of Gen Z support — particularly among a group that swung meaningfully toward Republicans just two years ago — represents a meaningful political warning sign heading into the fall.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points for the Gen Z subgroup.
Source: NBCNews.com story by Stephanie Perry and Marc Trussler