The men who helped President Donald Trump take the White House for the second time have changed their stance since the 2024 elections. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten pointed to new polling that shows a 20-point shift in the group, which is a dramatic drop that should shake the GOP’s boots months away from the midterms.
While discussing the numbers on CNN, Enten mentioned that Trump beat then-Vice President Kamala Harris among men by 13 points in November 2024. Now, he trails by 7 points in approval with that same group. Enten reacted to this change by saying, “Yikes! Yikes! Yikes! Yikes!” according to reports from Raw Story and in the video below.
The decline appears to be even more pronounced among younger men. Polls highlighted by Enten indicated that men under 25 shifted from supporting Trump by 5 points in the 2024 election to disapproving of his job performance by 19 points.
This marks another major flip for a group Republicans targeted heavily during the last campaign.
Trump won in 2024 because of men. They are abandoning him right now.
He won men by 13 pt in 2024, but his net approval is now -7 pt with them.
Men under 45: Trump won by 5 pt in 2024. Now he’s 19 pt underwater with them.
On cost living, he’s now 30 pt underwater with men! pic.twitter.com/UxvvS16VLf
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 24, 2026
Enten attributed much of this change to economic stress, particularly with the higher prices. In a segment on March 20, he stated that Trump’s net approval on gas prices was at negative 39 points overall and negative 53 points among independents. He also pointed out that Trump’s net approval on the cost of living was 41 points underwater, which he called a record low for Trump across both terms.
A Yahoo/YouGov poll released this month showed that 67% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, while 26% approved. Regarding gas prices, 66% disapproved and 27% approved.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Trump was already losing support with younger male voters, a crucial part of his coalition for 2024. Their report found that 33% of men ages 18 to 29 approved of Trump’s performance last month, down from 43% in February 2025. They also noted that Trump won 46% of young male voters in the 2024 election, which was a 7-point increase from 2020, according to exit polling analyzed by Pew Research.
The White House has pushed back against the notion that Trump is losing favor with young men. Reuters reported that spokesman Davis Ingle claimed no President had done more for young men than Trump, stating that the administration was working to create jobs, reduce inflation, and make housing more affordable.
Gen Z voter on why he’s supporting Trump: “I look at a lot of the friends that I have that are male around my age: They want to have homes, they want to start families, they want to make a lot of money….
pic.twitter.com/x32TbhupfY
— 💋🇺🇸 Country Over Party🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@gagirlpolitics) August 27, 2024
Despite the dip in support from men and poor ratings on prices, Trump’s overall approval rating has remained relatively stable in recent days. Enten noted on CNN that Trump’s approval was at 41% in late February, just before the latest escalation in the Middle East, and it stayed at 41% in the new polling.
However, Enten warned that this number could indicate trouble for Republicans as they head into the midterms. Historically, the president’s party loses an average of 35 House seats when the president’s approval is below 50% at this point in the cycle.
For Trump, these new numbers regarding male voters represent a notable and concerning change in what was once one of his key political strengths heading into 2024. Whether this trend continues until November may depend on whether voters see any relief from the everyday costs that helped him win back the presidency.
