Gen Z'ers Share How Trump Has Impacted Their Lives
In this special edition of BuzzFeed's political diaries series, we're highlighting the voices of Gen Z'ers to allow them to share their unfiltered experiences living under a second Trump administration.
We recently asked Gen Z'ers in the BuzzFeed Community: How has the recent Trump era affected your life so far? Here's what they had to say:
There's the Gen Z'er who said they got an IUD in fear of losing access to birth control under the Trump Administration:
"I live in a conservative state, but I am far from conservative. I was so concerned about losing access to the birth control I've used since high school for pain, that I had to get an IUD (nothing wrong with them, but I personally never wanted to get one until I felt I had no choice).It's also really scary to see the economy getting worse so quickly, as someone who has just moved hours away from any family for work. I live alone, and it's absolutely terrifying to think about how much harder it could be to afford basic needs like groceries and rent. I am lucky to have found a job in one of the toughest times for post-grad employment. Many others don't have that same luxury. This is certainly not the life or the America I imagined for my future."
There's the Gen Z'er who said they can "barely afford to eat" because of Trump's tariffs:
"I was barely making it by financially because of my student loans, and now the tariffs have made everything so expensive, I can barely afford to eat.Also, being a woman and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am terrified of losing my rights for just existing as I am. I have to go back on my anxiety meds because I started having attacks regularly."
There's the young Gen Z'er who fears for their father, who is an immigrant with a green card:
"I'm almost done with eighth grade, and I graduate in 2029, which means Trump will be president the entire time I'm in high school. I just feel really scared about how me and my friends will have no rights, and we'll have to spend the rest of being teenagers living in fear because of Trump. In addition, my dad is an immigrant and has a green card, but I'm really scared that he could be deported anyway, and I'd have to move away from my home and my friends and everything here I love."
There's the Gen Z air-traffic controller who says they have witnessed aviation safety be impacted by Trump's mass layoffs:
"I am an air traffic controller in the military. The large layoffs of federal employees have caused our tower to struggle immensely as we now no longer have civilian contractors/federal employees on our teams. Overall well-being as well as aviation safety are all largely impacted by this."
There's the trans Gen Z'er who said they were verbally attacked after being forced to update documents to their gender assigned at birth:
"I'm trans, my pronouns are he/him, and my passport and license have been updated to say 'FEMALE,' under the Trump Administration. An officer pulled me over, and when he saw my license, he called me multiple slurs."
There's the Gen Z'er whose national park internship was cancelled due to Trump's federal firings:
"I had applied for many national park internships for the summer, which have now been cut because of federal funding and firings. It was supposed to be a new start for me.With the cancellation of internships and part-time jobs, and the fact that no one will hire me for a regular full-time job because my resume is too 'overqualified,' I have to live with my parents, who just moved to a different state. So I'm in unfamiliar territory, have only a part-time job after months of searching, and can barely afford rent to my parents. I'm 24."
There's the Gen Z'er who works as a government contractor who is witnessing what they see as instability and inefficiency that the Trump admin has created:
"I work at a government facility as a contractor. All my coworkers are government employees worried daily about their jobs. The contract I'm on expires in July, and usually it is a smooth transition to renew the contract, but all the uncertainty is scaring me and others on the contract.My coworkers are scared to retire or leave in the next few years, as they think their spots will never be filled. One person took the fork in the road; he leaves at the end of May, and the government has already informed his department that the position will not be refilled. Efficiency at the facility has decreased based on the daily stress and uncertainty that the administration has created. Now, all employees are getting more responsibilities and duties outside of their credentials."
There's the pre-vet student who said their classes have been cut due to Trump's education funding cuts:
"I'm a pre-vet student at a fairly well-known public university, and a couple of classes that I've really been hoping to take have been cut due to funding cuts. I don't know if they're technically necessary, but they definitely would've looked good applying to vet schools. I'm worried it'll keep happening, too. My college just voted to keep their DEI program, and while I'm definitely proud of them and (mostly) proud to attend this school, it does mean that we're going to lose a ton of funding, and that could screw up my future career prospects."
There's the Gen Z'er struggling with the cost of living under the Trump Administration:
"Moving out of my parents' home after graduation from college doesn't seem like an option anymore. Applying for jobs is hard, and I've been told it would be at this time of year, but the qualifications in certain institutions seem impossible. My time for health insurance under my family is almost up, and I need a full-time job with health benefits like I need air.It's been hard to go apartment hunting since prices keep going up, and just yesterday, I went to Food Lion and I spent nearly $40 on just eight items for one dinner. How will I provide food for myself? I don't know, it may seem like I'm complaining, but I've outgrown my home and seeing that the cost of living is going up bums me out. All these grown folks keep telling me it's normal, but to this extent???"
And finally...
There's the Gen Z college student who fears for their classmates after going through training in case ICE comes to their university:
"It's really scary that my neighbors, coworkers, and classmates, people who I consider to be really great, honest, and hardworking people, face this inexplicable tragedy of democracy and fundamental human (and US) rights! It really hit me the most when my history professor (she is not a US citizen, [she's] from Hong Kong) sat us down to have the ICE chat with us. She explained that they have the right to enter the campus without permission from the state or local authorities and enter buildings and capture our fellow students.The president of the university sent out a letter instructing students to never let ANYONE into any on-campus building who looks like they aren't supposed to be there, especially if they look unsafe. It was really eye-opening and downright infuriating that these kids (I'm an older college student) have to face these horrors when they should be worrying about their next exam. NOT worrying about the possibility that they could be indirectly responsible for someone's deportation. Just blows my mind."
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