Americans Are Turning on Trump
The president’s big gains with Black, Hispanic, and young voters in 2024 suggested a major shift. Less than two years later, he has lost those new supporters.
As of December 2024, a growing sentiment among Americans is turning against former President Donald Trump, indicating a potential shift in the political landscape. The former president's declining popularity is starkly evident in recent polling data. According to a CNN poll, Trump's support has dropped to 34 percent, the lowest it has been since January 6.
This disapproval is even higher than the 33 percent he received in an AP-NORC survey, which placed his approval at just one point above his 2017 low. Quinnipiac University recorded Trump's approval at 32 percent, a record low for their poll. The decay in Trump's support is particularly pronounced among groups that the GOP had hoped would be solidly behind him.
Young voters, a demographic that was once pivotal for the Trump campaign, have shown significant disapproval. A Yale Youth Poll indicated that 68 percent of voters aged 18 to 22 and 72 percent of those aged 23 to 29 disapproved of Trump. The Harvard Institute of Politics reported that young voters are especially skeptical of expanded presidential powers, a common trait in Trump's governance style.
Trump's popularity among Black and Hispanic voters has also waned, particularly among men. While Trump won nearly half of the Hispanic vote in 2024, current polls suggest that Republicans are expected to perform poorly in the midterms, marking their worst performance with this demographic since 2018. Even Trump's core supporters are experiencing a decline in support.
A New York Times review of polling data found that white working-class voters' views of Trump's economic handling have deteriorated. During the first two years of his first term, these voters rated him higher than the overall population, but now they rate him much worse. In February 2016, Trump had boasted about his backing among the least-educated voters, but now his approval among this group is down to 41 percent.
The Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism reports a shrinking Trump base and a less personal connection to him, which is particularly problematic for a personalist leader and movement. Republican strategists are now concerned that even consistent GOP voters might not vote in the November election. Historically, the Democratic Party has struggled with its ability to maintain a solid base of support, especially among minority voters.
However, Trump's unpopularity exacerbates the Democratic Party's problems, as his approval numbers are lower than they were during the pandemic, when Americans were disgusted with the Democratic administration. Now, as inflation remains an issue, Trump is losing support for the same reasons.
Written by urgent.news from The Atlantic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
