Trump's waning support among young men could hurt Republicans

"Young man, there's no need to feel down…"

US President Donald Trump slowly punches the air while swaying his hips as his favourite disco classic, YMCA, blares through speakers at almost every campaign rally.

But some of the young men who helped him win the White House are feeling down, increasingly disillusioned by the president's second term.

This important demographic lurched to the right in 2024 with a 15 per cent swing from 2020. But polls have shown they are abandoning the Republicans in growing numbers.

Economic struggles, rising costs and broken promises about foreign wars have turned off many young men.

Now both sides of politics are vying for their votes, and the fight is playing out online in some bizarre and nasty ways.

Young men turn on Trump

In a basement classroom of a Pennsylvania university, several young men stand with hands on hearts as they pledge their allegiance to an American flag projected onto a whiteboard.

At this meeting of the Gettysburg College Republicans, president Connor Felo is the only member who has actually been able to vote in an election. He turned 18 just in time to support Mr Trump in 2024.

Two years on, he is disappointed by some of what he has seen, particularly the war in Iran.

"I think that's where he slipped up the biggest," he said.

Fellow College Republican Henry Quinn, who turned 18 earlier this month, admits he has only recently become politically engaged. But he is learning the lessons of political reality quickly.

He is similarly frustrated about the president's decision to join Israel in waging war with Iran.

"The two things that really messed with me were the tariffs — because I'm pro-tariff but the way he did it was just not the way you should do it — and the Iran war.

He wants politicians focused on the economy, bringing down inflation and lowering costs, rather than what he sees as expensive and intractable foreign wars.

One group that has looked extensively at the political views and behaviours of this demographic is centre-left think tank Third Way.

Senior policy adviser Lucas Holtz, a gen-Z man himself, sees a consistent theme emerging out of their research.

"When we ask in our polling and other public polling what young men's top issues are, they consistently say inflation, jobs and the economy, and corruption in government and politics," he said.

In 2024, more than half (55 per cent) of male voters aged 18-29 supported Mr Trump.

A recent New York Times poll showed Democrats with a narrow 1 per cent lead in that group.

Meanwhile, a Harvard Youth poll released this week found nearly two thirds of adults under 30 who plan to vote in the midterms say their main motivation is to oppose Mr Trump and his policies.

Below-the-belt insults

On social media, the campaign trail has started to look like a gym.

Lifting weights has become the new kissing babies as some young male candidates post videos of themselves pumping, sweating and punching their way to the midterms.

The insults are also getting personal and are increasingly aimed below the belt.

White House aides have called Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff a "cuck loser" and "feminine theatre kid".

Michigan senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has repeatedly called his Republican opponent Mike Rogers "beta" and challenged him to a game of no-pads tackle football.

And Republicans, including the president, have called Texas senate candidate James Talarico "low-T" (low testosterone) and, perhaps even more damaging in the barbecue-loving state, "vegan".

Mr Talarico responded by posting a photo of himself biting into a turkey leg and quipping that he had been "eating BBQ since before [Republican opponent] Ken Paxton's first indictment".

In the world's most consequential schoolyard, one of the oldest insults has become a political weapon: you are not man enough to lead.

Third Way's Mr Holtz sees that kind of name-calling as a sign of desperation.

"It really goes to show you have nothing else to run on, because these are not issues that [people] are talking about — the cost of living ... being able to afford rent, pay for gas or anything else," he said.

Mr Felo says he finds it insulting to the intelligence of young men.

"It doesn't really work for me because I kind of see that as a stereotype," he said.

"I don't know if they're willingly trying to make fun of our generation, but that's kind of what it seems like. 

"The way for me to get my vote would be to act."

No-show voters

Despite polls predicting a big midterms swing away from Republicans among young men, that does not mean they will jump onboard with Democrats.

About 50 million young people aged 18-29 are eligible to vote in these elections.

But at the last midterms in 2022, less than a third of them voted.

People under 30 are far less likely to vote in midterm elections than the general population, and fewer young men turn out than young women, so getting them to show up will be key.

Third Way's research found Republican and independent young men say they are significantly more likely than their Democratic counterparts to skip the 2026 midterms and instead just vote in the 2028 presidential race.

Twenty-six-year-old Gettysburg College student Nick (who did not want his last name used) doubts he will show up for either.

He voted for Mr Trump in 2024 but says he has become so disillusioned with politics since then that he plans to sit out the midterms and all future elections for the foreseeable future.

"It's not so much like, Trump got in there and I'm an idiot because I voted for him and I now regret that decision — or anything like that," he said.

"It's more so just the case that a politician will be a politician will be a politician."