Young men and right-leaning podcasters powered Trump's 2024 win. Now many are turning away

Nicholas Aparicio, a 20-year-old political science student in Binghamton, N.Y., is increasingly anxious about finding work, buying a home and even affording gas for his car. 'The idea of starting a family feels very out of reach these days,' he told CBC News.

Aparicio said he backed Donald Trump in 2024 because he believed the president would strengthen the economy and improve his own prospects, drawn to a candidate he saw as personable and willing to fight for people like him. His verdict now: 'I feel like we got duped.' Despite serving as president of the College Republicans Binghamton chapter, he is so disenchanted that he is unsure he will even cast a ballot in next week's midterm elections.

His turn reflects a broader pattern. Young men, along with popular right-leaning or 'manosphere' podcasters such as Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson, were central to Trump's 2024 victory. Both groups are now cooling on the president, and experts say the shift could swing House seats and potentially Senate seats in the midterms.

'At this point, Democrats have a 26-point lead on Republicans amongst younger people,' said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Institute. His recent survey found only nine per cent of young Americans believe the country is on the right track, while 69 per cent say they fear for the future, and just 31 per cent of young men said they would definitely vote. 'Young men absolutely helped Trump win in the last election and if they don't come out and vote in these midterms, it will change the outcome.'

David Sasaki, a director at the American Institute for Boys and Men, said many Gen Z men are devoted listeners of hosts like Rogan, Steven Bartlett and comedian Andrew Schulz, who speak to them in their own language rather than about them. 'Authenticity, or at least perceived authenticity, is the currency of politics these days,' he said, adding that podcasters often fill a void for young men who lack mentors or role models in their daily lives. Aparicio said that, like many of his peers, he absorbs podcast content mainly through social media clips.

In 2024, Rogan, Schulz and Theo Von all hosted Trump and discussed MAGA politics in ways that seemed to endorse it. That has changed. Last year Schulz said on his podcast Flagrant that he regretted voting for Trump. In April, Carlson expressed regret over his 2024 endorsement, saying 'I'm sorry for misleading people' and that he will be 'tormented' by it. Rogan, still the most popular podcaster in the United States, has publicly criticized Trump twice, over the White House hosting a UFC fight this summer and over the war in Iran. CBC reached out to Rogan, Von, Schulz and Carlson for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

The Wall Street Journal quantified the drift, finding that mentions of Trump by podcasters such as Rogan and Ben Shapiro have fallen 70 per cent since the run-up to the 2024 election. 'There were two main plunges: one was right after the election, after which it steadily dropped, and then it dipped again after the Iran war started,' Journal reporter Neil Mehta told CBC News, noting that podcasters are the predominant news source for young people and that being seen as real and authentic is 'the sell.'

Sasaki pointed to early October, when Von interviewed New York's left-leaning Mayor Zohran Mamdani on This Past Weekend about socialism, affordability and inequality, as proof the conversation had changed. He also cited CBS News exit polling showing roughly 60,000 Americans who voted for Trump in 2024 backed Mamdani in 2025. 'Assuming this demographic of young men is all in on MAGA and can't swing [away] would be an error in judgment,' he said, describing young men in 2026 as more worried than ever about the economy, job security, home ownership and even living below the poverty line.

Aparicio said Trump began looking untrustworthy soon after winning, starting with the Epstein files. 'The first real sign was him campaigning that he would release the Epstein files and then began gaslighting his followers [when he took office] and saying they don't exist,' he said. He also believes the economy has worsened and that U.S. involvement in Iran and endorsement of Israel's actions in Gaza are hurting Americans. By potentially sitting out the midterms, he said, 'I want to emphasize the point that young men should not be taken for granted by the Republicans.' 'Hopefully if I work hard, I will be able to afford a home and raise a family,' he added. 'The way things are going, I really don't feel sure about that.'