(OPINION) – Youth Shifting Right? Polls Show Trump Appeal Growing

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Sarah Arnold (Townhall/Tip Sheet) writes that Democrat-Socialist Zohran Mamdani, a 2026 Democrat New York City mayoral candidate, believes billionaires “should not exist.” NYC’s wealthy elites are alarmed and have stoked fears of their potential exit from the city and state if he is elected. Mamdani’s views did not prevent him from accepting a large campaign donation from the billionaire Soros family.

The Democrat Party once identified with the middle class and blue-collar voters. But Ned Barnett (American Thinker) claims congressional Democrats have now “turned on blue-collar workers and retirees,” while Republican President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” provides tax cuts and other benefits “for minority groups, blue-collar workers, and seniors.” Barnett says the Democrat vote was “a clear betrayal” by the “increasingly left-leaning Democrat Party.”

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Some critics claim illegal migrants are collecting the jobs and benefits that should be going to American workers. Jim Hoft (Gateway Pundit) assessed the data from a 2022 study by SIPP (Survey of Income and Program Participation) that found “59% of non-citizen households used one or more major welfare programs,” compared to “39% of U.S.-born households who receive one or more major welfare programs.”

It remains interesting that Democrats, who often highlight what they see as America’s negative qualities—such as crime, racism, and discrimination—still invite more immigrants to come to this nation and decry efforts to stem the flow. Yet, Hudson Crozier (Daily Caller) cited a Gallup poll that found only “36% of Democrats said they are only moderately proud of their country, down from 62% in 2024,” while “80–90% of Republicans” professed strong “national pride.”

American Thinker columnist Andrea Widburg found countervailing polls over the last few years that indicate young voters-many indoctrinated by progressive educators to disparage America-have been gravitating more to the Republican Party since the elections of President Donald Trump due to his successes, dynamism, and policies that benefit them.

Since the Trump era and amid the shortcomings of the Biden administration, American Thinker columnist Joseph Ford Cotto has observed a steep decline in traditional respect for “experts” in government, academia, and the media. In 2024, “only 37% had a lot of trust in elections” at the national level, while 74% trusted “vote accuracy in their communities.” Surprisingly, “trust in organized religion fell to 32%,” and trust “in the medical system [was] only 36%,” according to a Gallup poll cited on the Pew Research site.

Listen to Tom each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon after the 5 PM news as he joins Andy Brownell for Rochester Today on News-Talk 1340 KROC-AM and 96.9 FM.