A new Associated Press poll shows that here is a very high level of agreement among younger Americans about President Donald Trump. Over 70% of them say he “doesn’t reflect my personal values.”
And just 33 percent of them approve of Trump’s job performance.
The poll was conducted among Americans between the ages of 15 and 34.
A strong majority of these young voters also are of the opinion that President Donald Trump is “racist, dishonest and mentally unfit” for office.
Needless to say the poll reflects growing concerns among young people that the government in Washington doesn’t care about them and their problems. Certainly their views of Trump are much more negative than the population as a whole.
Other polls have shown that because of these kinds of attitudes young voters identify much more strongly with the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party.
“Trump doesn’t care about us,” said 27-year-old Nicole Martin, an African-American graduate student in Missoula, Montana. “I’m not going to say he’s unfit like he has schizophrenia. I do kind of think he’s twisted in the head. He just comes off as disgusting to me.” Asked if she will vote this fall, Martin said: “I haven’t really thought about it.”
The poll also found higher levels of political engagement than has been seen from younger voters in past election cycles. Nearly half of the potential voters under the age of 35 say they paying much more attention to what’s going on in politics that they did before Trump was elected.
“He doesn’t seem to be really for women. He doesn’t seem to be for Black Lives Matter. He doesn’t seem to be for DACA,” said Meghan Carnes, 23, of New York City, referring to a program to allow young immigrants to stay in this country. “He doesn’t seem to be for the kids worried about guns. It’s extremely disappointing to have a president who doesn’t seem to care.”
One young respondent from Topeka, Kansas, said he is very unhappy that Trump seems to have legitimized racism, sexism and homophobia by “normalizing abusive talk.”
“Especially living in Kansas — for me as a gay man — it’s kind of scary,” he said. “He’s like the world’s worst boogeyman.”
The poll shows that young people support minority rights: 69 percent are in favor of immigrants having a legal path to citizenship, 59 percent favor LGBT rights, and 58 percent say Muslim rights should also be protected. Not surprisingly, most young people are also in favor of stricter gun laws.
Here are other issues that the poll respondents feel most strongly about:
— the government should allow them to refinance student loan debt at lower rates (76 percent)
— the government should provide health insurance to all Americans (67 percent)
— the government should take steps to address climate change (60 percent)
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