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By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
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President Donald Trump’s approval among Gen Z has moved from deep negative territory to a partial rebound in February, underscoring volatility within a key battleground demographic in the midterms.
Newsweek contacted the White House via email for comment outside of regular business hours.
Why It Matters
Gen Z voters are a fast‑growing share of the electorate, and even modest shifts in their engagement can move close races.
Read More on Politics
For Trump, stabilizing losses among younger voters matters as midterm contests often hinge on turnout dynamics rather than persuasion alone.
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What To Know
Trump’s winter polling among Americans aged 18 to 29 tells a story of movement, not stasis.
Across four Economist/YouGov surveys spanning November 2025 through mid‑February 2026, Trump’s net approval with Gen Z has oscillated, moving from deep disapproval toward relative improvement, then slipping again before rebounding.
Midterm outcomes often track presidential approval, and swings among 18- to 29-year-olds can tip close House and Senate contests.
In mid‑November, Trump’s standing with Gen Z hit a low point.
The Economist/YouGov poll conducted November 15–17, 2025, found just 25 percent of voters aged 18–29 approving of Trump’s job performance, with 70 percent disapproving and 4 percent unsure, producing a net approval of ‑45.
That survey was based on 1,549 U.S. adult citizens interviewed online, with results weighted to national benchmarks and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
By late January, there were signs of modest recovery.
In the January 23–26, 2026 Economist/YouGov poll, Gen Z approval rose to 32 percent while disapproval fell to 63 percent, with 5 percent undecided.
That translated to a net approval of ‑31, a 14‑point improvement from November.
The poll surveyed 1,684 U.S. adult citizens, weighted across demographics and recent voting behavior, with an adjusted margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 points.
That improvement did not hold.
Just two weeks later, the February 6–9 Economist/YouGov poll showed Trump’s Gen Z numbers deteriorating sharply.
Approval dropped to 25 percent, disapproval climbed to 67 percent, and the share who were unsure rose to 8 percent, pushing his net approval down to ‑42.
The survey included 1,730 adult citizens, conducted online with demographic and political weighting, and carried a plus or minus 3.1‑point margin of error.
The most recent data point suggests another reversal, pointing to a shift in Trump’s standing with young voters.
In the February 13–16 Economist/YouGov poll, Trump’s approval among 18‑ to 29‑year‑olds increased to 33 percent, while disapproval declined to 59 percent, with 8 percent unsure.
That yielded a net approval of ‑26, the strongest showing for Trump with Gen Z across all four polls.
The survey was based on 1,682 U.S. adult citizens interviewed online, weighted to national targets, with an adjusted margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points.
Taken together, the pattern is one of instability rather than a steady trend.
Trump’s net approval with Gen Z improved by 19 points from November to mid‑February, but that path included a sharp mid‑period drop that nearly erased earlier gains.
This kind of volatility often signals a weakly anchored opinion environment, where views are more reactive to short‑term events than locked in by partisan identity.
That matters in a midterm year because Gen Z voters historically show lower and more variable turnout than older cohorts.
When attitudes are fluid, participation becomes especially sensitive to motivation and salience.
A cohort that is dissatisfied but disengaged can have a very different electoral impact than one that is dissatisfied and mobilized.
The underlying approval‑disapproval split also points to a ceiling problem.
Even at his strongest showing in mid‑February, Trump’s approval among Gen Z remained well below a majority, with nearly six in ten disapproving.
Improvement at the margins may reduce losses, but it does not yet suggest a structural realignment among younger voters.
At the same time, the narrowing of the gap from ‑45 in November to ‑26 in February is not trivial.
In close midterm races, especially in districts or states with large student and young professional populations, a swing of even five to ten points in net sentiment can alter turnout patterns enough to change outcomes.
For Republicans, reducing the intensity of opposition among young voters can be almost as important as winning them outright.
The February rebound also underscores that Gen Z opinions are not static.
The rise in approval from 25 percent in early February to 33 percent by mid‑month, while within the combined margins of error, aligns with a broader pattern of short‑term responsiveness seen in younger voters across recent cycles.
From a methodological standpoint, all three 2026 polls used similar YouGov online sampling, demographic and political weighting, and margins of error around three points, strengthening confidence that the swings reflect real movement rather than survey noise alone.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek in a previous emailed statement: “President Trump was overwhelmingly elected by nearly 80 million Americans to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda. The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world. It is not surprising that President Trump remains the most dominant figure in American politics.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this month: "The highest Poll Numbers I have ever received. Obviously, people like a strong and powerful Country, with the best economy, EVER!"
Writing for YouGov, senior data journalist David Montgomery and director of survey data journalism Taylor Orth said: "A majority of Americans disapprove of how Donald Trump is handling his overall job as president, and even more disapprove of how Trump is handling the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. These negative views of Trump's handling of his overall job and the Epstein investigation have changed little in recent weeks."
What Happens Next
As the midterm cycle accelerates, future polling will test whether February’s rebound represents a durable shift or another temporary swing, with Gen Z turnout levels likely to determine how much these attitudes ultimately matter at the ballot box.
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