‘No regrets’: Young voters respond to ‘tariff city’
Trump’s youngest supporters remain unfazed by his shaky tariff rollout.
As stocks tumble while President Donald Trump wages his international trade war with tariffs on imported goods, his youngest supporters aren’t showing signs of buyer’s remorse.
Even Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, who railed against what he called “tariff city” after losing “7 million bucks in stocks and crypto” last week conceded Trump “is smart” and that he will “roll with him for a couple of days, couple of weeks, see how this pans out.”
This ‘wait and see’ attitude dominates among young Trump supporters. Most I interviewed aren’t just accepting tariffs — and the likely consequences including higher consumer prices, a market downturn, and the threat of a recession — they’re enthusiastic about the long-term vision. These young Americans are looking for reprieve from what they feel has been a shaky economic adolescence, and in a vacuum of other ideas for solutions, Trump’s vision resonates.
What they’re saying…
In a phone call with Gabe Guidarini, who’s 20 and a University of Dayton student, he firmly backed Trump’s tariffs. Guidarini believes the country needs more U.S. based jobs at a time of “economic despair.” The former acting president of College Republicans of America touted “trade policies of [administration’s prior] that have benefited foreign countries at the expense of middle America.” Living in Ohio, Guidarini has watched his “state torn apart by globalization.” A self described “economic nationalist,” he said he’s “nostalgic for home made goods.”
Nic Sumners, 21 and from Virginia, cast his first presidential vote for Trump last year and said he likes seeing the president’s promises come to fruition.
“I think they are great, he ran on them as a promise and it’s one of the few he has gotten done. I can not say I have ran into any issues on it affecting me yet, but I can acknowledge that it is gonna be rough in the beginning of a long term plan. I have not done much investment plan changes other than buying now while everything is cheaper,” Sumners, 21, said.
I asked Sumners what he’s looking forward to. “It’s a good long term plan for America, and I think they should be incorporated into the economy, instead of being a threat the State Department could hold over a country’s head. It will help bring those outsourced labor jobs back into America.”
“As to what I am buying now is more of whatever in my portfolio I was confident about before, while it’s lower.” (Asked what those stocks are he said, “blue chips to sum it up.”)
Leona Salinas, 19 and a student at Texas State University from Ulvalde, Texas, also touted job creation in the U.S. as part of her rationale for supporting the tariff plan. “I think Trump’s new tariffs make sense. We’ve let China take advantage of us for way too long, and this is a step toward fixing that. It’s not just about trade, it’s also about protecting American workers and making sure we’re not so dependent on countries that don’t have our back. I know there might be some short-term setbacks, but long term, I believe it’ll help us become stronger and more self-reliant.”
Like many of the other 2024 Trump voters I spoke to, she’s willing to sacrifice short term pain for what she believes will be long term gain.
“I’m a college student, so I’m always saving money but I am saving a little bit more because I know the tariffs will have an effect on people financially to some extent. But these are the changes that need to be made in order to further progress as a country, and I’ve done my research so I’m confident in it,” Salinas, 19, said.
More nuanced concerns came from Trump voter Luc Saint Genies, 22 and also from Virginia, who has “no regrets in voting for Trump,” but is “not confident in this rollout.”
“To be blunt, I don’t know what the plan is; or frankly if there is a well flushed out one. He’s pushed out most of the old guard, for better or for worse, and stacked congress in his favor. I’ve seen how fast bad ideas can take hold without friction,” he said.
As an employee at a transportation and logistics company, Saint Genies has a front row seat into the complexity of global shipping. “I’ve seen firsthand how these policies ripple through global shipping: raising costs, tightening supply chains, and ultimately landing on the consumer and US small businesses, not the shipper,” he explained.
“I’m for tariffs as a strategic tool, but not at this scale or applied this bluntly,” Saint Genies said, adding: “I believe this is about something bigger. Trump; whether by strategy or instinct; is accelerating the great power competition with China. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The longer we delay that confrontation, the more the advantage shifts toward Beijing. This moment could be a forcing function for the U.S. to rebuild critical industries like shipbuilding and logistics, and I understand the logic of using Section 301 to help pay for that.”
“Still, tariffs aren’t just about flexing economic muscle; they have to be smart, targeted, and coordinated with our allies. If we treat them like a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel, we risk weakening our own position long-term. So yes. I support tariffs in principle. But they need to be part of a long-term strategy, not just short-term politics. This isn’t just about what we pay at the store, it’s about how we compete in a changing world,” Saint Genies, 22, said.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old student in Ann Arbor, Michigan who also voted for Trump (and who asked to remain anonymous), described the current moment as a “crazy time.”
“I’m not a fan of tariffs long term whatsoever,” he said. “On one hand, if they can use this to bargain deals with other countries whether that’s making them lower their tariffs, increase investment, or other concessions then I hope that these deals happen and I know that they are happening. On the other hand, Trump lied about the tariffs other countries have on us, and used these fake figures to create reciprocal tariffs. Tariffs are just a tax on the American consumer and will only hurt working class people so they better be gone asap. I think this is actually a correction in the market that was necessary, many companies were trading at insane multiples and I think this is a return to normalcy. I hope to invest in quality business like Meta, Tesla, Palantir, Vistra, and others because they are on sale right now.”
“I hope these tariffs are gone cuz I definitely did not vote for this level of them,” this 19-year-old said. “I think it definitely makes me reconsider his entire platform and some of the haste. But I don’t have regrets, and I don’t think the tariff business undermines all the other good things that came with the admin.”
Reality sets in
As for how the tariffs and economic situation is affecting others, I heard everything from cutting back on lifestyle spending to rethinking the college admissions process.
One 22-year-old young woman from New Jersey who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 said she’s already “shopping less when it comes to wellness activities (yoga, pilates, and traveling). And I’m putting more into my savings.”
And a 16-year-old high school student from Long Island, New York (who was too young to vote last year) said: “As a high school junior, the tariffs’ detrimental effects on the economy is definitely affecting where I am thinking of going for college in terms of finances. The looming economic recession is making me reconsider expensive options because I don’t know what the future economy will be like and especially as this economy strain was by choice - the Trump administration implementing heavy tariffs.”
“I definitely am more cost conscious when it comes to which schools I’m applying to, like I’m now leaning against applying to out of state schools, but I’ll still apply to private schools because they’re financial aid is still tentative,” this 16-year-old told me.
“I’ve discussed this with my parents, it’s not necessarily that spending a large sum of money on a college degree from a elite school over a public state school is unreasonable, rather these economic factors are definitely making me reconsider if it’s worth it, considering that cost of living might just increase. I don’t remember the big economic recessions like in 2008, so this is also making me more cautious about spending and investing money in general.”
Takeaway: Young Trump supporters, jaded by the status quo, seem willing to accept further disruption in hopes of eventual economic improvement. After all, that’s why they voted for Trump: they appreciate his willingness to shake things up. These voters show higher levels of enthusiasm for economic nationalism, and aren’t abandoning the president the way others have on this policy. Those from manufacturing regions display strongest support, while those with market investment or global business experience voice more concerns, but say they’re taking advantage of buying stock while prices are low. Nearly all are loyal (so far) despite market turbulence and widespread criticism from the business community – in part because they are just looking for any sort of solution after what they perceive as years of economic disappointment.
Zooming out, the economic situation is already affecting daily lives and major decisions. This generation has grown up amid constant turbulence and is familiar with economic instability. Should the tariff strategy devolve further without an ultimate course correction, I don’t expect this loyalty to last – especially from those with less ardent political views.
Noteworthy listens
I joined Camerota and on their podcast, ‘Sanity,’ to discuss the ongoing ramifications of Covid-19 on young people’s worldview, Gen Z’s shift to the right, and a generational shift in workplace culture. It was a great – and fun – conversation, and I hope you’ll take a listen here! Thank you Alisyn and Dave for having me.
And reads
Teens are delaying getting their driver’s licenses. Parents want to know why, Madeline Holcombe for CNN
Gen Z branded as 'the ghosted generation' as dates, colleges and employers keep saying 'no', Taylor Penley for Fox News
Why Hollywood is not alarmed enough about Gen Z, Ryan Faughnder for The Los Angeles Times
If these young people actually have money to invest, they are not "typical" Gen Z or any generation. In the 50s and 60s, I had absolutely no such money nor did I even understand investing when I was graduating as a top student. I also had been prevented from taking the "practical" courses and so had to learn all those things like sewing and cooking after I chose to not go on to grad school. My undergrad degree was simply to mindlessly follow that academic path before I moved into a farming community to become part of building that community with my own children and things like after-school and reading groups for children whose parents were too busy working to help them. As a current grandmother, I am basically superfluous, since the grandkids are all wrapped up in getting those participation trophies and investing the dollars they receive as money begged online to be able to afford the next wonderful scooter or whatever. As long as society is basing its value on how much money one can play with vs. how much we all help one another have decent lives, Trumpism can be voted in even while more and more people have less and less quality of life.
It's really too soon to know what effect the tariffs will have, especially since they seem to be changing by the day. The most immediate impact was on the stock market, and young people who are in the market are most likely investing for the long term, not worrying about retiring in 5 years, so a down market is not as big a problem for them as it is for older people. I'd love to know what Gen Z small-business owners think; so far it seems like the uncertainty in trying to manage a small business is the other immediate impact the tariff announcements are having.