A new survey of the MAGA coalition reveals that younger Trump supporters often hold more conservative views than their older counterparts, challenging the assumption that younger generations trend liberal. The study, titled 'Beyond Maga' and conducted by the non-profit More in Common, is based on 18,000 interviews.
Compared with older Trump voters and non-Trump voters, young Trump voters were more likely to agree with statements such as 'men should lead and women should follow', 'being religious is more rebellious than being atheist', and that Trump should 'fix the country even if it means ignoring the Supreme Court'.
However, on other questions, younger voters appeared more moderate. The largest proportion of Gen Z and Millennials fell into the 'Reluctant Right' and 'Mainline Republicans' blocs, which often split with the harder-right 'MAGA Hardliner' and 'Anti-Woke Conservative' groups. For example, 98 per cent of MAGA Hardliners said the political left is an 'existential threat' to America, compared with just 38 per cent of the Reluctant Right.
Despite Trump's past cosmopolitan image, his administration has promoted traditional values, such as dismantling DEI programmes and protections for transgender people. Yet polling suggests the president is losing young voters who helped him in 2024. His approval rating among 18-to-29-year-olds stands at 32 per cent, and young men prefer Democratic control of Congress by a 12-point margin, according to Harvard's Youth Poll.
Younger Gen Z men may be even more anti-Trump, according to research from YouGov and the Young Men’s Research Project. Majorities opposed parts of the Trump agenda, including ICE crackdowns and firing federal workers. Charlie Sabgir, author of the report, said these younger voters likely did not experience the instability of the first Trump administration and may feel 'buyer's remorse'.
