President Donald Trump’s approval among voters aged 18 to 24 rose from 25 percent in July to 41 percent in September, according to a Newsweek analysis of Harvard/Harris polling. The shift challenges the idea that young Americans who backed the president in 2024 are uniformly moving away from him before the midterm elections. Republicans could benefit if improving sentiment produces votes, although younger adults have historically participated at lower rates than older Americans in midterm elections, according to U.S.
And an August 28-31 Economist/YouGov poll of 1,592 U.S. adult citizens, with a plus or minus 3.5 percent margin of error, found that 34 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds said they would definitely participate in the midterms, compared with 78 percent of Americans aged 65 and older. Speaking to Newsweek about the Harvard/Harris polling, Melissa R. Michelson, interim chief academic officer and dean of arts and sciences at Menlo College, suggested that this demographic could regret voting for Trump while still reporting improved approval of his job performance.
A heavier flow of political information through social media may be “triggering their partisanship,” Michelson added. She also raised the possibility that voters experiencing discomfort about their earlier choice could resolve that tension by deciding the president is performing well. The White House insists that “the ultimate poll” was November 5, 2024, when Americans “overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda,” and points to his efforts to “create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability” as evidence of “historic progress.” Newsweek emailed the White House for further comment on Friday morning and was awaiting a response at the time of writing.
Young voters have become an unpredictable part of Trump’s coalition, combining economic anxiety with weaker party loyalties and lower turnout. Approval can shape enthusiasm, but it does not guarantee that someone will cast a ballot. The latest Harvard/Harris survey found 41 percent of registered voters aged 18 to 24 approved of Trump’s job performance, while 54 percent disapproved, leaving him underwater by 13 points.
That poll was conducted online by The Harris Poll and HarrisX from September 26 to 28 among 2,200 registered voters. Its full-sample margin of error was plus or minus 2.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. August’s results put approval within the same group at 38 percent and disapproval at 57 percent, giving a net approval rating (those who approve minus those who disapprove) of -19 percentage points.
Fieldwork ran from August 28 to 30 among 2,100 registered voters, with a full-sample margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 points. In July, only 25 percent of those aged 18 to 24 approved, against 67 percent who disapproved, yielding a -42 percentage point net approval rating. The online survey of 1,776 registered voters was conducted July 11 and 12 and carried a full-sample margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 points.
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