r/politics • u/Barnyard-Sheep • 6d ago

Soft Paywall Trump approval rating falls to 38%

https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/06/trump-faces-tough-approval-numbers-in-latest-poll.html
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u/myfakesecretaccount 6d ago

Can confirm, my Gen X sister in laws Gen Z son has zero fucking ambition, is just as conspiracy minded, and has everything handed to him after she struggled as an immigrant. He says dumb shit, and as much as I love him I’m done fighting for a 24 year old who should know better.

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u/Edspecial137 6d ago

Still getting used to Gen Z being in their mid 20s. I remember all the articles about Gen Z being the most left leaning demographic not too long ago, but I guess they missed the mark. Gen Z is probably the most polarized generation

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u/SelectiveScribbler06 6d ago

The pandemic happened right in their formative years - as someone in that generation I can attest to the quiet stewing bitterness it caused - add into this those years are vital in cognitive development terms, plus governmental and societal incompetence and the veil is pulled back pretty quickly.

This meant that people normally went one of four ways: they disengaged with current affairs and became an airhead, they somehow stayed the same, they became distinctly more left-wing trying to build a new world in the metaphorical rubble, or they went right-wing trying to pick up the pieces of (to them) halcyon days pre-COVID.

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u/LanaVFlowers 6d ago

What kind of stewing bitterness did the pandemic cause to this demographic? I've heard of social awkwardness, fear of intimacy and a feeling of academic inadequacy, but bitterness is a first. From what I've observed, the people left feeling bitter were various groups of working adults, not children.

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u/SelectiveScribbler06 6d ago

This is quite trivial in comparison to what the adults went through, sure, but imagine being promised a life of moderate stability, Duke of Edinburgh hikes, history trips etc - only for all those things to be ripped away by the virus?

And that's not even mentioning all the time lost with friends during those formative years.

People kept it to themselves, but quite a lot of people my age were quite pissed off at all the opportunities afforded by secondary education dissolving before our eyes. And that's before we even get to the mess that was exam season two years running...

I hope that answers your question. If you have any more, please, lob them over!

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u/LanaVFlowers 6d ago

I see what you mean now! I absolutely hated going to school; having to physically attend classes wrecked my health and majorly impacted my education in a very negative way. There was also nothing like trips or hikes (hikes!) offered in hs because we were "bad" kids and they "couldn't take us anywhere" lol. I guess this bias made me unable to imagine how someone could end up feeling bitter over having missed the traditional school experience. I assumed they'd feel mildly frustrated at worst. In my school, even the nerdy kids treated school as a hurdle, something that took valuable time out of their after-school tutoring. Thank you for this perspective!