Gen Z support for Trump collapses amid Epstein fallout
The US president's approval rating among 18 to 29-year-olds fell from roughly even around the time of his inauguration in January to minus 40 by July, according to analysis of YouGov data by the pollster G Elliott Morris.
Gen Z voters swung towards Mr Trump in last year's election, even though support for Republican candidates tends to lag among younger voters, but this has collapsed in the months since.
Mr Trump is facing the biggest crisis of his second term over his handling of the Epstein files, with his administration refusing to make public all of its documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein, the paedophile financier, who died in 2019.
By the US president's own account, he was friends with Epstein for about 15 years before they fell out in the early 2000s.
The drop in support could be a hopeful sign for the Democrats, many of whom were panicked by Mr Trump's support among younger voters when he won last year's presidential election, almost equalling his opponent Kamala Harris for support among 18 to 29-year-olds.
However, data appear to show that a drop in approval for Mr Trump is not necessarily translating to support for the Left-wing party, Axios reported.
A separate poll for CBS News and YouGov published on Sunday showed 8 per cent of Democrats, 17 per cent of independents and 50 per cent of Republicans approved of Mr Trump's handling of the Epstein case.
It also revealed widespread scepticism of his handling of the economy, with 36 per cent approving of his handling of inflation compared with almost two thirds against.
Almost half believed Mr Trump's ' one big, beautiful bill ', which passed Congress last month, would hurt their family, compared with 25 per cent who believed it would help.
The legislation extends tax cuts from the president's first term in 2017, but also cuts funding for Medicaid, which covers medical costs for low-income Americans, by trillions of dollars, despite Mr Trump's election pledge not to do so.
However, the Democrats are hugely unpopular, failing to regroup following a series of shattering defeats in November's elections.
Just 28 per cent had a favourable opinion of the party, according to a CNN poll conducted between July 10 and July 13, compared with 54 per cent who were unfavourable.
This marks a small dip from shortly before Mr Trump's inauguration in January this year, when 33 per cent had a favourable opinion compared with 48 per cent who were unfavourable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
This trade deal is the EU's Suez moment – its subservience to Trump is on show for all to see
The Suez crisis in 1956 was a humiliating moment of truth for the UK. Faced with implacable opposition from the US, Anthony Eden's government was forced to abandon military action in Egypt. Capitulation to American pressure was a recognition of Britain's diminished status on the world stage. The trade deal agreed between Washington and Brussels this week lacks the drama of troops being sent in to recapture one of the world's key waterways, but it is the EU's Suez moment all the same. What's more, European politicians know as much. Donald Trump said the outcome was 'great', and for the US that was certainly the case, since the EU made all the concessions and got nothing in return. Most European goods exported to the US will face a 15% tariff, while the already small tariffs on US goods entering the EU will be eliminated altogether. European companies have been forced to accept higher costs as the price of access to the world's biggest market. That's by no means all. The EU has also committed itself to $600bn (£450bn) of US investments, $750bn in long-term fossil-fuel energy purchases and to buy more US military kit. Plans for an EU digital services tax that would affect US tech giants had already been dropped. As far as the financial markets were concerned, it was reason to feel relieved, since this one-sided peace pact removed the threat of a tit-for-tat trade war. It isn't that economists think tariffs will be good for the global economy, but rather that they feared an even worse outcome. EU trade negotiators were of the same opinion. For Brussels, any deal was better than no deal. But appeasement always has its critics, and condemnation of the deal was swift in coming – particularly from France. François Bayrou, the prime minister, said it was a 'dark day' for Europe. His predecessor, Michel Barnier, said the agreement was an admission of weakness. Posting on X, the entrepreneur and commentator Arnaud Bertrand said the terms of the agreement represented one of the most expensive imperial tributes in history. He added: 'This does not even remotely resemble the type of agreements made by two equal sovereign powers. It rather looks like the type of unequal treaties that colonial powers used to impose in the 19th century – except this time, Europe is on the receiving end.' That's a reasonable conclusion. The rationale behind ever-closer union within the bloc was that an EU armed with its own currency would be able to match the US, not just in terms of economic prowess but in geopolitical influence as well. The euro would be a rival to the dollar, and strong growth would give Europe political clout. Pooling sovereignty in areas such as trade would ensure that Europe punched above its weight. Things haven't quite gone according to plan. Europe's economic performance since monetary union has been dismal, and the gap with the US has widened rather than narrowed. Individual countries have had their scope for independent action systematically reduced, with restrictions on state aid, procurement and industrial policy. Handing the European Commission responsibility for negotiating trade deals hasn't prevented Europe being steamrolled by the US. Indeed, the trade deal the EU has agreed with the US is actually less favourable than the one that Keir Starmer has signed up to for post-Brexit Britain. The US-EU agreement needs to be approved by EU countries, which could be a problem if the hostile French reaction is anything to go by. Many details remain unclear and some of the terms will prove hard, if not impossible, to enforce. There is no way, for instance, that the EU can force private companies in Europe to invest across the Atlantic. Moreover, the deal may prove to be a pyrrhic victory for Trump if, as looks increasingly likely, tariffs increase the cost of goods in the US. Coupled with the clampdown on migration, there is the clear risk that growth will slow and inflation will rise. Share prices on Wall Street are high in expectation that the good times will continue. They may not. But while there would be a tinge of schadenfreude in Europe were the bubble in US asset prices to burst, any joy in Trump's misfortune would prove short-lived. Europe's fortunes are tied to those of the US. First, it needs access to the American market because its economic model relies so heavily on exports. This is particularly true of Germany, which runs large and persistent trade surpluses. German carmakers can probably just about live with 15% tariffs, but they would have been ruined had Trump followed through on his threat to impose levies of 30%. Second, the EU needs the US to help it counter the perceived threat from Russia. It sees US energy as a substitute for Russian oil and gas, while the agreement to buy more American military goods is a way of tying the US more firmly into Nato. The contrast with China is stark. Beijing did not roll over when Trump imposed punitive tariffs earlier this year. Instead, it stood up to US bullying by announcing retaliatory measures of its own. The markets went into full panic mode, with China's robust response triggering a sharp fall in US bond prices. Faced with a financial meltdown, Trump watered down his tariff plans. The EU's surrender to Trump shows that China is now the only serious rival to American hegemony. Like Britain since Suez, the EU's subservience to the US is plain for all to see. Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Powell dismisses Trump's criticism as fed holds rates steady
The Federal Reserve defied Donald Trump once again last night and refused to cut interest rates as the US economy bounced back. The central bank – whose chairman Jerome Powell (pictured) has been urged by the US President to slash rates to 1 per cent – instead held them at between 4.25 per cent and 4.5 per cent. The Fed was split, however, with two insiders appointed by Trump calling for a cut in the largest dissenting vote for more than 30 years. It came just hours after figures showed the US economy grew at an annualised rate of 3 per cent in the second quarter – the equivalent of around 0.75 per cent on a quarterly basis. That followed a 0.5 per cent annualised contraction in the first quarter. Trump took to social media to declare the number to be 'way better than expected' – though analysts cautioned the 'sharp fluctuations' in the data are the result of the 'tariff dispute' causing 'distortions in foreign trade'. The President went on to urge Powell to immediately cut rates, adding: 'No Inflation ! Let people buy, and refinance, their homes!' It marked just the latest attack on Powell by Trump, and followed a televised clash during a presidential tour of the Fed last week when the central bank chief was quizzed over the cost of renovations. Isaac Stell of the investment service Wealth Club said: 'Despite the sustained pressure, Powell and his deputies have once again defied the President's wishes and chosen independence over political capitulation.' But while the Fed did not cut rates, last night's vote was the first since 1993 in which two members of the Fed's seven-person Washington-based board of governors have dissented against the majority. That stoked debate about how Trump's public pressure to cut rates has threatened the independence of the central bank. Both dissenters – Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller – were appointed by Trump and called for rates to be cut by a quarter of a percentage point to between 4 per cent and 4.25 per cent. Waller has been mentioned as a possible successor to Powell when his term expires in May next year. Analysts cast doubt over the underlying health of the economy following the apparently upbeat GDP figures. Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at financial markets research group FWD Bonds, said: 'The economy is not in a recession is the good news. The bad news is that this is not a report of robust growth.'
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
BAT's first-half profit beats estimates, US business returns to growth
July 31 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco (BATS.L), opens new tab reported a 1.7% rise in first-half profit at constant currency on Thursday, beating expectations, helped by a return to growth of its business in the United States and demand for its Velo nicotine pouches. BAT and peers such as Philip Morris, opens new tab(PM.N), opens new tab, Imperial Brands (IMB.L), opens new tab, and Altria (MO.N), opens new tab are trying to capture a bigger share of the vapes, tobacco heating products and oral nicotine pouches market to offset declining sales of traditional tobacco products. The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said revenue in the U.S. grew 3.7% at constant currency, with Velo helping sales of its new categories products rise 3.9%. It reported adjusted diluted earnings of 162 pence per share for the six months to June 30, compared with 159.4 pence a year ago, and a company-compiled consensus of 154.8 pence.
