U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has improved among millennial voters, new polling shows.
According to polling by The Economist/YouGov, Trump’s net approval rating among this demographic, roughly those born from 1981 to 1996, has increased from -19 percentage points in September to -16 points in December. While his approval rating among this group remains underwater, it is up three percentage points.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Millennials are an important voting bloc because they have overtaken baby boomers as the largest age group, according to the Pew Research Center. Cementing their support will be important for future elections, including the November 2026 midterms.
What To Know
In polling conducted between September 26 and September 29, Trump’s net approval rating among millennials was -19 points, with 37 percent approving of him and 56 percent disapproving. This plunged further to -28 points in a poll taken between October 31 and November 3. Thirty-three percent approved of Trump, and 61 percent disapproved of him.
The latest The Economist/YouGov poll found that 39 percent approve of Trump and 54 percent disapprove, leaving him with a net approval rating of -15 points.
It is unclear what factors have improved Trump’s standing among these voters, as pollsters do not collect this information. However, a federal government shutdown in October affected the allocation of federal funds and services, which may have affected his approval rating.
“This is a tiny shift from a president way underwater in the polls,” Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey, told Newsweek. “It probably reflects a less bad week for him than a good one. For millennials, issues such as climate change and college debt are top of the agenda alongside the day-to-day cost of living struggles. Nothing much has changed on any of these, and this polling is more likely to be an anomaly than any ray of light for the president. Less than a year into Trump 2.0, we should look at the trends much more than any individual polls, and even the trends carry little weight 11 months from the midterms.”
It comes amid other polls suggesting Trump’s approval rating among Gen Z voters also increased from -55 percentage points in October to -34 in November.
Broader polls are more negative. A recent poll by The Economist/YouGov found Trump’s approval rating at its lowest level since he returned to office in January, with 39 percent approving of the job he is doing and 58 percent disapproving, a net approval rating of -19 points.
According to recent I&I/TIPP polling, Trump’s net approval rating is -3 percentage points, with 44 percent of respondents approving and 47 percent disapproving.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social earlier this month: “So many Fake Polls are being shown by the Radical Left Media, all slanted heavily toward Democrats and Far Left Wingers…Fake News will never change, they are evil and corrupt but, as I look around my beautiful surroundings, I say to myself, ‘Oh, look, I’m sitting in the Oval Office!'”
What Happens Next
As his presidency continues, Trump’s approval rating will likely fluctuate among all age groups, including millennials.
