Growing up Trump: How the returning president has shaped younger voters

Generation Z has grown up with the influence of President-elect Donald Trump saturating their everyday lives. 

Most new voters are ages 18 to 22, which means they were 9 to 13 when Trump made his way onto the political stage. Eight years is the same amount of time it takes for students to go from fifth grade in elementary school to first-year college students.

Since Trump announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015, he has become the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president of the United States. 

Also in the same time frame, Trump was impeached and acquitted twice in one term, then later convicted on 34 felony counts connected to hush money payments made to a porn actor before the 2016 election, and accused of spreading false claims of election fraud. With his recent election victory, prosecutors have asked to postpone sentencing in the hush money case, and pause the federal trial. 

The generation that has grown up with Trump are themselves divided on his leadership capability, but agree he has a lot of significance, according to six Gen Z voters interviewed. 

David Chester is an associate professor of social psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Trump does not promote qualities of harmony, empathy, or bridging gaps, but younger voters are sometimes drawn to him, according to Chester.

“Controversial figures capture our attention,” Chester said. “They are drawn to them just like we are drawn to car accidents.”

There is “good evidence” that Trump contributed to the current polarization of political discourse among younger generations, according to Chester.

“He’s hiding what we call antagonistic traits,” Chester said. “These are traits that are provocative; they’re there to hurt, drive people apart, and emphasize differences between groups.” 

Young voters shift toward Trump

The 2024 election offered two potential historic outcomes: the first female U.S. president or the first convicted felon to hold the Oval Office. Unlike in 2016, when Trump lost the popular vote to candidate Hillary Clinton but won the electoral college path to the presidency, he grabbed both victories decisively this election. 

More than 40 million Gen Zers were eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election, including 8 million who just reached the voting age, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning at Tufts University. Turnout was about 42% among eligible youth, lower than the approximately 50% turnout in 2020.

Trump gained a 10-point increase in support from younger voters, according to CIRCLE. Preliminary exit polling indicates that 56% of men ages 18 to 29 voted for Trump in November. He gained support from women, with 40% of their vote, up from 33% in the 2020 election within the same age group, according to CIRCLE.

Justin Brown, who lives in Northern Virginia, voted for Trump in 2020 and 2024 because “he’s a good president.” If he had been old enough to vote in 2012, his vote would have gone to Obama, he said. 

If other people got out of their emotions and did the research, they would see Trump delivered and helped make life better for Americans, Brown said. 

“He was one of the presidents that did the most, if not the most, for African American people specifically,” Brown said. 

Brown cited Trump’s funding of historically Black colleges and universities and passage of the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform bill, as examples. 

Trump committed $255 million in annual HBCU funding, increased Pell Grant funding through the FUTURE Act and forgave $322 million in disaster loans to four HBCUs. 

The First Step Act sought to make the federal justice system fairer and more focused on rehabilitation, according to the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice. However, the organization noted some issues with execution of the policy, and that Trump “needs to see it through.”

“No one is saying that he's a good person or the good representative of moral character,” Brown said.

For Brown’s generation, and future generations, Trump is seen as a political, not entertainment, figure, he said. Like former President Ronald Reagan, who many in Generation X knew solely as a political figure, not a Hollywood celebrity. 

“His media portrayal has definitely contributed to more polarization,” Brown said. “It has definitely normalized there being discourse between candidates.”

But as far as Trump’s seeming “divisiveness,” Brown said he thinks most politicians are capable of that behavior. 

“This is a widely known thing in politics, that political figures will lie to you and tell you what you want to hear,” Brown said. “So, I don’t know why we’re acting like Trump is, a brand new taste of evil, you know?”

The economy was a huge driver for young voters who chose Trump. Many Gen Z voters have financial issues and struggle to afford rent, face student loan debt, and worry they will not be able to buy a house. The so-called American dream seems more distant, maybe impossible. 

Younger voters share views on Trump’s impact

The younger generation has grown less sensitive to controversial comments and topics, through daily exposure, according to Vincent Papaleo, a senior who studies information systems at VCU.

Many see Trump more as “entertainment” than as a president, he said.

Even before Trump was in office, Papaelo feels like people started to become more comfortable with online speech, but definitely since Trump has been in office, Papaleo said.

Older generations focus more on a politician’s policy, but his generation does not do as “deep a dive,” and looks more at social media presence, according to Papaleo.

Social media is increasingly where people ages 18-29 turn for news. A recently released Pew Research Center study found nearly 40% of people in that age group get their news from social media influencers, many who lean to the right. 

Trump’s style has influenced other politicians, according to Claire Harris, who is pursuing a master’s degree in public health at the University of Virginia. 

His “overzealous style” on social media and at rallies has set a new standard of political behavior, and Gen Z has grown up thinking that is the standard, Harris said. 

“It’s easy to feel like his yelling and name-calling are just a part of how politics work in America,” Harris said. “Even though we saw opponents from the Republican background, Democratic background, Green Party background, have never acted like this before until Trump has come to politics.”

It does not help that the media amplifies Trump’s messages, she said. 

“He focuses on really strong rhetoric that has clearly divided people and it's made it very hard for us to have real conversations about important issues that are happening in our country and in our world, like climate change, racial justice and health care,” Harris said.

Now, her generation is more divided and more cynical if politics can even work, she said.

“It just seems like he's doubled down and is constantly stirring up conflict,” Harris said. “On top of that, he is constantly dismissing facts and science.”

Adeline Sajko, a first-year student at William and Mary, was 10 years old when Trump was first elected, she stated. She feels lucky to have parents who tried to put his behavior in context and talk to her about character. 

“Not everyone has had that kind of guidance,” Sajko stated. “The president is supposed to be someone you can look up to. Without proper education, young children can follow his example blindly.”

Black voter support still strong Democratic

There has been a lot of analysis post-election of turnout, and where Trump made gains. Although he gained some Black supporters, most were younger men, according to Associated Press exit polls. 

Many Black voters either did not vote or voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Janae Wright, a forensic science major at VCU. 

Overall, 8 in 10 Black voters supported Harris. She had 89% support from Black women, according to the AP.

While it was hard to fight the mindset of “letting the world burn,” Wright realized how important voting is to vote for the future. 

“Again, being a young Black woman, my ancestors fought, bled, and died for us to do that,” Wright said. “And the fact that some people in my generation don’t understand the concept of that, if you put something in, something will get put out, it’s very disheartening.”