Only 15 percent of Americans, ages 18 to 29, think the nation is headed the right way, deepening what researchers call a generational crisis of confidence.
What Happened: The spring Harvard Youth Poll of 2,096 respondents, aged between 18 and 29 years, found 51 percent believe the country is on the wrong track and 31 percent are unsure. Just 3 percent declined to answer. Trust in Washington is equally sparse, with only 19 percent saying the federal government “does the right thing” most of the time, while fewer than one in three trust Congress, the president, or the Supreme Court.
President Joe Biden still fares better than his successor on the question of who presided over sunnier times. 41 percent say the nation was better off under Biden, compared with 25 percent for former president-turned-incumbent Donald Trump.
Trump’s approval rating among young people stands at 31 percent, virtually unchanged from the same point in his first term. Trust in congressional Democrats has tumbled to 23 percent, down from 42 percent in early 2019.
Pollsters tested nine items from Trump’s 2025 agenda; none topped 35 percent support. The most popular, creating a Department of Government Efficiency, drew barely a third of young Americans. Tariffs, abolishing the Education Department, and pardons for Jan. 6 rioters each mustered backing from two in 10 or fewer.
Why It Matters: Data from the Harvard Youth Poll coincides with the release of a new Reuters/Ipsos survey, which finds approval of Trump’s handling of the economy and inflation has slid to 37 percent, down from 42 percent recorded just after his Jan. 20 inauguration. Together, the polls paint a picture of mounting public unease as Trump nears his 100-day mark.
Other gauges echo the turbulence. Gallup put Trump’s overall approval at 45 percent in April — up from 41 percent at the same point in his first term — while an Economist/YouGov survey reported a 16-point plunge since January. An Emerson College poll in March showed a steadier 49 percent rating, even as opinions split over his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, the latest Reuters/Ipsos figures suggest a sustained downward trend tied to economic anxieties and jittery financial markets.
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