Republican college students are not as happy with President Donald Trump‘s administration as they were in January, according to a Newsweek/CollegePulse poll.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Trump made inroads with college students, a group that has leaned toward Democrats for decades, in the 2024 presidential race, as some polls suggest that younger votershave become more conservative.
His approval rating has fallen in recent weeks amid backlash on tariffs and parts of his immigration policy. If that trend continues, it could pose a challenge to Republicans as they fight to hold onto their congressional majorities in the 2026 midterm elections.
What To Know
The Newsweek/College Pulse poll found that a growing number of Republican college students say they are unhappy with the Trump administration. It surveyed 1,022 undergraduate students from April 9 to April 15, 2025, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.13 percentage points.
Thirty percent of Republican college students are “less happy” with the Trump administration than they thought they would be. Meanwhile, 51 percent are as happy with the administration as expected, while 18 percent are happier, according to the poll.
A January Newsweek/College Pulse poll found that 9 percent of college Republicans were less happy with the administration than expected. At the time, 48 percent said they were as happy as expected, while 43 percent were happier with the administration than they thought they would be. The earlier poll surveyed about 1,200 college students between January 24 and January 31, 2025.
The latest poll also found that his approval rating among college Republicans has dropped from 92 percent to 69 percent since January.
Jake Brody, lead researcher at College Pulse, told Newsweek it is “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.
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Julia Sasine, an associate researcher at College Pulse, told Newsweek that many Republican students “seem uncomfortable with the idea of punishing political speech, particularly on college campuses where free expression is a deeply held value.”
“Additionally, broader generational changes in the Republican Party may contribute to the growing unease among young conservatives,” she said. “As the political landscape evolves, these tensions highlight how younger Republicans are redefining what it means to align with Trump—and perhaps what it means to be Republican at all.”
What People Are Saying
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.”
CNN data analyst Harry Enten said: “Take a look at Trump’s economic approval rating now versus 100 days into his first term, and what we see is it’s 10 points lower. The economy was a strength for him during his first term, now it is a weakness. Now it is dragging him down.”
What Happens Next
Whether Trump’s approval rating among college Republicans will rebound remains to be seen, and it could be determined by questions like how his tariffs play out.
Meanwhile, Trump’s policies will continue to impact college students. For instance, he said on Friday he is considering removing Harvard University’s tax-exempt status, and his administration has moved to resume collecting student loans.