How Does Gen Z Feel About the Election and President-elect Trump?

The 2024 presidential election was the first election in which many members of Gen Z – people born between 1997 and 2012 – were eligible to vote. How – or if – they would vote was a matter of much speculation since it was the first time many in the group had the chance.

Montclair State University Justice Studies Professor Gabriel Rubin has been studying Gen Z for many years and over the past two years, has conducted more than 65 long-form interviews with Gen Z young people. Although the interviews are wide-ranging, among the topics discussed are politics, the state of the country, and how Gen Z feels about the political system and the recent election.

Here are some of Rubin’s insights into Gen Z, and their views on the election and President-elect Donald Trump as he prepares to take office:

What does Gen Z think about politics and the election?

If asked to characterize the U.S. political system, Rubin says that Gen Z young people would say things like “it’s a mess,” “it’s divided” or “it’s chaotic.” He feels they have become very cynical and disillusioned with the political system. Consequently, Gen Z as a group has the least political participation of any generation.

Rubin believes that this cynicism carriers over to their thoughts about the election: “They don’t really like either party, don’t like the way we do elections, don’t like the structure of our system, don’t see either party providing them with solutions to problems that they care about, don’t see either party trying to reach out to them in a meaningful way.”

“It sounds to me like more Gen Z people I spoke to seem to not want to vote at all rather than have an opinion on one or the other [candidate],” says Rubin. “And I think part of that is that they’re cynical about the future.…They want a reason to come out and vote for someone and they don’t really have one.”

What does Gen Z think about President-elect Trump?

Rubin says that within Gen Z, there was low enthusiasm for President Biden when he was running. Vice President Harris’ entry into the race stirred interest – particularly among Gen Z women – but she didn’t have much time to let people know who she was or what she would do.

“There is a gap in enthusiasm and the Democratic side didn’t have time to make their case or didn’t make their case well, whereas they went against someone who was a known quantity who didn’t have to define himself very much,” Rubin says, referring to Trump.

Gen Z, says Rubin, “are fed up with the two-party system and Donald Trump’s independent streak feeds into that.”

Many Gen Z men were drawn to Trump, who went on podcasts that they listened to, or had support from social media influencers who they follow. That type of media exposure resonated with young men. “Donald Trump employed an expert social media campaign,” notes Rubin. “Many influencers were wearing MAGA hats and there was the subliminal message that manly, smart, independent people vote for Trump.”

Still, overall, Rubin feels that Gen Z have mixed feelings about Trump: “Many don’t like him, many do like him, and many don’t care or are in between.” Alluding to one of the reasons that a sizable segment of Gen Z may have voted for Trump, Rubin adds, “Many are fed up with the Democratic Party.”

What issues are important to Gen Z?

Gen Z cares a great deal about the future, says Rubin. Many want change but don’t see it happening. There are issues that are important to them that they feel are not being addressed adequately. Some of the issues shared by Gen Z young people are:

• Economic issues – inflation, wages and the cost of everything from education to food.
• Social justice issues – equality for women, equality for Black citizens, equality for LGBTQIA individuals, equality for the undocumented and other groups.
• Reproductive rights – a top issue for Gen Z women.
• The conflict in the Middle East – a huge, emotionally charged issue for Gen Z.
• Mental health issues – always a major issue with Gen Z but the pandemic accelerated the problems.
• Environmental issues – uncertainty about what kind of world they will be living in.

“Gen Z are very concerned with inflation, crime and the banning of TikTok,” Rubin says.  “Donald Trump speaks to those issues in addition to being welcoming of crypto, which many Gen Z people hold.

“In my interviews, I did not hear much about the immigration issue. There seemed to be some resignation about Trump being president and while last time around there was a lot of fear about his immigration policies, [this time] the fear was mixed with more joking than in the past.”

As with immigration, Rubin also notes a shift in attitudes on LGBTQIA issues: “Gen Z is more split [on LGBTQIA issues] than millennials were. Some Gen Z are obviously very supportive and many identify as LGBTQIA. But as the rights group has grown, there is increasing conservatism and pushback among some in Gen Z who feel it may go too far in certain respects,” Rubin says.

“Every culture has a counter culture and Gen Z is no exception.”

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