Donald Trump's Approval Rating With Republican College Students Plummets
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President Donald Trump's approval rating with Republican college students has plummeted during the first 100 days of his second term in office, a Newsweek/CollegePulse poll found.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Trump's approval has taken a hit amid backlash to some of his policies around tariffs and immigration in the past few weeks. His approval is viewed as a key barometer of how Americans feel about the administration. If it continues to drop, it could pose a challenge to Republicans in next year's midterms and key governor races later this year.
His approval rating among college students has particularly dropped, according to the poll. Trump made some inroads with younger Americans in last year's presidential race, and some polls suggest the youth is more Republican than in the past. Others show his support crumbling among the youngest voters.
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House on April 10, 2025.
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House on April 10, 2025.What To Know
The Newsweek/College Pulse poll of 1,022 undergraduate students from April 9 to April 15, 2025, showed that his support among college Republicans has dropped since he took office in January.
It found that 69 percent of college Republicans approve of his performance, compared to nearly 92 percent who gave him positive marks in an earlier poll, which surveyed about 1,200 college students between January 24 and 31.
Jake Brody, lead researcher at College Pulse, told Newsweek it's "clear that students are not satisfied with the Trump presidency."
"However, the data here is telling because even Republican students are souring on Donald Trump, demonstrating a widespread trend across college students. We are looking forward to seeing how this data trends over the rest of the year [and his presidency]," Brody said.
Julia Sasine, associate researcher at College Pulse, told Newsweek the shift may reflect issues like his "increasingly hardline rhetoric on immigration and free speech."
"Many Republican students, while traditionally supportive of strong immigration enforcement, seem uncomfortable with the idea of punishing political speech, particularly on college campuses where free expression is a deeply held value," Sasine said.
Among all college students, only 19 percent approved of his job performance. Just four percent of college Democrats and 19 percent of independents said they approved of the Trump administration, the poll found.
Thirty-two percent of college Republicans said they support Trump less than they did when he took office, while 50 percent said they support him about the same amount. Eighteen percent said their support for Trump has increased.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.13 percentage points.
During his first 100 days in office, Trump has wrangled with some colleges and universities, threatening to pull funding over their handling of pro-Palestinian protests that began last year. Harvard University, for instance, has seen $2.2 billion in grant money frozen by the administration.
Meanwhile, Trump has also reversed the Biden administration's pauses on student loan debt collection.
What People Are Saying
Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, previously told Newsweek: "While most Americans cited the economy as their main reason for voting for Trump last fall, economic anxiety is more acute among Gen Z, who note that the price of living makes the American dream increasingly out of reach."
President Donald Trump, on Truth Social on Monday in response to negative polling: "They are negative criminals who apologize to their subscribers and readers after I win elections big, much bigger than their polls showed I would win, loose [sic] a lot of credibility, and then go on cheating and lying for the next cycle, only worse."
What Happens Next
Trump's approval will continue to be monitored as a metric of whether Americans are supporting his policies. Meanwhile, he is set to rally in the battleground state of Michigan on Tuesday to commemorate his 100th day in office.
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