The young men who powered Donald Trump’s 2024 electoral success are turning away from him and the influential voices that encouraged them to vote Republican. According to sources, new polling data reveals a dramatic reversal in support that could reshape the political landscape heading into future elections.
Joe Rogan, the popular podcast host whose platform became a cultural force during the last presidential campaign has seen his favorable rating among young men drop 11 points since Trump’s second administration began. His approval fell from 53% to 42%, according to research from Speaking With American Men, a $20 million Democratic project tracking attitudes among this demographic.
Rogan is not alone in experiencing declining popularity. Elon Musk’s net favorability among young men has fallen by 14 points, leaving him with a 37% favorable rating. Tucker Carlson’s net favorable rating dropped by 12 points. Andrew Tate who faces charges of trafficking and money laundering that he denies, registered a net approval rating of minus 30.
The shift represents a massive challenge for Republicans. Trump himself began his second term with a 55% approval rating among young men but has since plummeted to just 27% overall approval in this group. His economic approval has collapsed from 60% to 26%.
At the start of his presidency, young men believed by a net margin of 33 points that Trump would improve their lives. That figure has reversed to minus 35 points, a 68-point swing that illustrates the depth of their disappointment.
“If Joe Biden’s honeymoon lasted arguably eight months, until the Afghanistan withdrawal, Donald Trump’s honeymoon only lasted about 90 days with young men,” said John Della Volpe, director of youth-polling firm SocialSphere. “Once he started talking about tariffs, we could see how quickly the mood changed, and we saw that more younger people believed he would have a negative, not a positive, impact on their lives.”
The reasons for the reversal are rooted in the very issues that brought young men to Trump in the first place. Economic pressures and foreign military engagement have become major concerns. Trump’s economic approval among young men fell 23 percentage points after he announced tariffs in mid-April 2025. Following U.S. airstrikes on Iran in February 2026, his economic approval dropped another seven points.
Several prominent personalities who supported Trump have publicly criticized his second-term decisions. Rogan has spoken against the Iran conflict and questioned the administration’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Carlson has criticized Trump on multiple fronts, including the partnership with Israel in military operations against Iran. Even Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the White House “screwed up” its communications concerning the Epstein files.
The Republican brand is suffering alongside Trump. The party’s favorable rating among young men stands at 33%, down 14 points from the previous year. Vance himself has a favorable rating of just 28% with a net favorability of minus 17 points. Among 11 right-leaning figures and movements surveyed, only Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the MAHA movement maintained positive net favorable ratings.
“There’s a vibe shift, unquestionably,” Della Volpe said. “All those people endorsed and basically kind of carried water for Trump and said, ‘Trust us.’ And a year later, I think not only will Trump and the Republican Party pay the price for that in the midterms, but each of those figures has a little bit less influence among younger people.”
According to Axios, “The manosphere stars who helped mobilize young men for Donald Trump in 2024 are losing their shine with that very audience.” The publication noted that “Trump and Republicans rode a wave of cultural cachet to reach young male voters,” but that advantage appears to be evaporating.
Young men who supported Trump in 2024 were motivated primarily by economic concerns and promises to end foreign military conflicts rather than deep ideological commitment.
“Many young men feel unable, after working hard and playing by the rules, to have the same basic life that their parents or that their grandparents had,” Della Volpe explained. “That’s really what that so-called grievance was all about. Working hard, falling short, and feeling ignored by the political establishment, but specifically Democrats, who are seen as having the backs of younger women and other important subgroups.”
Former President Barack Obama remains popular with young men, holding a 64% favorable rating and net favorability of plus 38 points. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders are the only other Democrats whose favorability ratings increased in recent polling, with net favorability of plus nine and plus six points respectively.
Brendan, a 23-year-old focus group participant from Michigan, captured the sentiment many young men express: “We’re just tired of being misunderstood and framed as kind of the enemy by all the other groups.”
Hayden, a 23-year-old from Texas, added that “there is a support system for every single group except men.”
Della Volpe identifies two groups that could be particularly receptive to Democratic outreach: the Skeptical Center and Resentful Strivers, which together account for 52% of young male voters. The Skeptical Center values stability, career opportunities and competent government. Resentful Strivers, nearly one-third of young male voters, believe the political and economic system works against them and feel disrespected because of their masculinity.
“You have instability around healthcare, around housing, and debt,” Della Volpe said. “I think younger people, and specifically men, want someone who can connect with that and realize those aren’t ‘bro grievances.’ Young men are working really hard to build a life, and they just want to be recognized for it.”
The declining influence of manosphere personalities may not be as straightforward as it appears. Research from New York University’s Center for Social Media, AI and Politics examined over 36,000 podcast episodes from 2024 alongside survey data and found that “podcast exposure did not necessarily cause Trump’s gains among young men.” The research suggested podcasts explained only a small portion of the widening gender gap among young voters.
Axios concluded that “The manosphere’s biggest personalities still have sway, but the direction of the country isn’t helping them, or Trump, with young men.”
