"I just feel like nothing went correctly. I just feel like everything got worse." That is how John, a 29-year-old Black Republican from Florida who has voted for Donald Trump since 2016, now describes the Trump presidency — in a new NPR report that finds Gen Z voters who powered Trump's 2024 win are now expressing frustration, disappointment, and in some cases outright regret.
A focus group of eight young Trump voters
The findings come from a focus group, conducted virtually last week, of eight Generation Z Trump voters. The conversation was run by Navigator Research, a left-leaning polling group, and reported by NPR's Elena Moore on October 16, 2026. Participants ranged in age from 20 to 29 and came from five states: Florida, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas and South Carolina — all places Trump won by double digits in the last election.
When asked to grade the president's job performance with a letter grade, a majority — six of the eight participants — assigned him either a D or an F. The remaining two selected a C. For voters who now regret their 2024 choice, much of the frustration centers on what they see as a string of failed promises.
Rising costs drive the regret
John, the 29-year-old Floridian who identifies as a Republican, gave the president an F and said he now plans to support Democratic candidates this fall — in large part because of the strain he has felt from rising costs. "I'm willing to give the other side a chance," he said. "I don't think they're going to make a total change. But things are just horrible right now for me. So I feel like even if they make one or two small changes, it will probably benefit me."
His story matters because Gen Z Americans were a key part of President Trump's winning coalition in 2024, when Trump made significant inroads with young voters. Nearly two years later, with early voting already underway in multiple states for the midterm elections, some of that youth support has clearly faded.
What this means for the midterms
The timing is awkward for Republicans. Two of the five states represented in the focus group — Texas and Ohio — are home to competitive Senate races that could be key to control of the chamber. If young voters who defected to Trump in 2024 are now defecting back, the party's midterm math gets complicated fast.
To be clear, eight people is not a poll — it is a conversation. But it is a conversation that mirrors what other polling has been picking up for months: young Americans feeling squeezed by prices, unimpressed by Washington, and increasingly open to switching sides. The question for November is whether regret turns into votes.
Watch: YouTube search — Gen Z voters discuss regretting their 2024 Trump vote
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Long Road Ahead B (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0