Frustrated with the cost of everyday necessities, Carter Tice, a 20-year-old tree landscaper in Milwaukee, voted for Donald Trump in 2024 because he promised economic relief — but Mr. Tice has not yet seen any improvement.
In Phoenix, Jared Cassell, a 25-year-old server and restaurant manager, voted for Mr. Trump because of his opposition to abortion but has been horrified by immigration raids and regrets his decision.
And Owen Cheyne, 21, from rural Klamath Falls, Ore., who listens to podcasts from influencers who supported Mr. Trump in 2024 — like Joe Rogan and Theo Von — has been disappointed by the president’s much-heralded tariff policy.
“He said it would get bad because of tariffs, and he said it would get better,” Mr. Cheyne said. “We’re still waiting.”
Propelled by economic anxiety, young men lurched to the right in the 2024 election — a 15-percent swing from 2020 — and helped Mr. Trump win the White House, setting off a round of soul-searching among Democratic politicians and strategists who were dismayed that this once-reliable demographic had fallen away.
A year and a half later, some Gen Z men say they are disillusioned by Mr. Trump’s second term. A variety of surveys have shown that young voters are veering sharply away from Mr. Trump since the last presidential election, and recent New York Times/Siena College polls found that Mr. Trump’s approval rating with young men fell by about 10 percentage points in the past few months.
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