A historic wave of young people voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election, with voters under 30 shifting 13 points toward Donald Trump since 2020. But now, many of those young people are regretting their votes as the president becomes increasingly obsessed with flexing American power abroad, betraying his long-touted “America First” policy.

The Washington Post recently held a focus group in North Carolina composed of young voters, and many who voted for Trump expressed great disappointment with the president. 26-year-old Joshua Byers said he feels “betrayed” by the president and does not understand why we are fighting in Iran “if we have never been attacked.”

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“I don’t really want to vote anymore,” Byers added. “I’m really starting to just think it just won’t matter… I don’t want to feel responsible for taking a vote and feeling misled, or misjudged, or making a wrong move.”

The Post reported a general sentiment of frustration among the focus group participants regarding high prices, foreign wars, and a hostile immigration policy.

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“The focus group in North Carolina, polling and a growing chorus of criticism from the male influencers who endorsed Trump suggest the rightward shift among men in their late teens and 20s in 2024 may have been an isolated incident,” the report suggested.

Polls show that young Republicans oppose the war in Iran in larger numbers than older adults, which was reflected in the focus group discussion.

“We are stepping into World War III,” said 23-year-old James Wiest. “We just get closer and closer every year.”

23-year-old Lilly Burrow, who voted for Trump in 2020 and 2024, said the war feels like the United States “doing Israel’s dirty work.”

“It does change how I feel about Trump,” Burrow added. “He said there would be no new wars, and he said that gas would be below $3 a gallon… I am not happy with him right now.”

Wiest said he likely won’t vote in the 2026 midterms. “I agree with his idea of making America great again, but the way he is going about… it’s not who I thought would be running this country. He is really focusing on stuff that pertains to him, that he is mad about, and he does not care about what we are mad about.”

The Post also pointed out that the massive rise in young people who voted for Trump was in part fueled by pro-Trump social media influencers, many of whom are now slamming the president for the war in Iran and expressing regret for supporting him.

Another piece recently published in the Post also pointed out the shift in young people’s perception of the MAGA movement. Analysis from Kara Voght questioned if MAGA has entered its “cringe era” after a brief stint as the cool kids.

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