Lean and boyish-faced with earrings in both ears, 23-year-old Isaiah Turner doesn't look like the typical Trump supporter, who tend to be middle-aged or older Americans.
Still, Turner drove two hours from his home outside Milwaukee to see Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, one of a contingent of young voters that some surveys suggest could be a growing and important demographic for Trump.
For Democratic President Joe Biden, who had overwhelming support from young voters in the 2020 election, the erosion of support among young people could potentially threaten his hopes for a second term.
Turner, who runs a dog breeding business with his mother, voted for Trump in 2020. He supports Trump's stance on oil drilling, his opposition to gun control — Turner owns several firearms — and his promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
"I can't think of a single thing that Trump did that annoyed me when he was president. And now, when Biden is in office, there are countless things that I don't agree with," Turner told Reuters. "A lot of my friends think the same as me".
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in March found that Americans aged 18 to 29 favor Biden over Trump by just 3 percentage points - 29% to 26% - while the rest favor the other candidate or are unsure who they would vote for if would vote at all.
If the 77-year-old Trump remains this close to the 81-year-old Biden in this demographic group until election day on November 5, it would be a big shift for him compared to 2020, when Biden had an advantage of 24 percentage points among young voters.
Young Trump supporters say they are unfazed by the criminal cases facing the Republican presidential nominee, and by claims that efforts to change the outcome of the 2020 election have become a threat to democracy.
Concerns about Biden's age and his support for Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza have fueled a decline in his support among young voters at a time when he is also losing Hispanic voters.
There are other signs that young people are slowly turning to the Republican Party, despite Biden's efforts to keep them on his side with moves like student debt relief, expanding affordable housing programs and lifting restrictions on abortion rights.
The share of Americans ages 18 to 29 who identify as Republican has increased, from 24% in 2016 to 26% in 2020 and 28% so far this year, Reuters/Ipsos research shows.
Despite a combination of cold wind, sleet and rain, about 3.000 Trump supporters formed a line outside the Green Bay Convention Center on April 2 to catch a glimpse of Trump. The audience, as usual, was mostly older, but there were also hundreds of young people.
Reuters spoke to 20 people under the age of 30 to get an insight into their thoughts. The most common reason for supporting the former president was inflation and the perception that the economy is not doing well, emphasizing that the rise in the prices of daily staples is more important for some than high stock prices and low unemployment during the Biden administration.
"I make decent money, but I can't afford a home from my salary," said 26-year-old Stevie Vent, who works as a security guard at a nearby hospital. "It's time to reinstate the man who will lower prices".
At the same time, most said they agreed with Trump's reticence when it comes to helping Ukraine in its war with Russia, an isolationist stance that is at odds with Biden's foreign policy agenda.
Colin Crego, a 19-year-old history student, said that the funds spent abroad would be better spent on combating domestic problems such as drug addiction.
"Actually, I don't like what we are doing with Ukraine," Krego said. "When I listen to Trump speak, he's very patriotic, very America First, and I like that."
Of 20 people interviewed by Reuters, 15 cited inflation or other economic concerns as reasons for supporting Trump, while a dozen said his plan to limit immigration was very important to them.
All said they were unfazed by the criminal cases Trump is facing, as well as the claim that efforts to change the outcome of the 2020 election have made him a threat to democracy. One person Reuters spoke to is black, while the other 19 are white. Eight of them will vote for the first time in the US presidential election this year.
Caitlin Huenink, 20, said it's not easy being a Trump supporter because left-leaning young people despise her views. She said, however, that she has recently noticed changes among her peers at the University of Wisconsin.
"They are more open to my way of thinking and I think more and more of my friends are becoming Republicans," she told Reuters.
Certainly, a group of young people willing to brave inclement weather to see Trump is not a representative sample of the broader electorate, and polls this early in the election cycle can be inaccurate. Younger people vote less often than older Americans, which makes them particularly difficult to predict, Reuters points out.
Concerns about Biden's age and his support for Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza have fueled a decline in his support among young voters at a time when he is also losing Hispanic voters.
Moreover, some surveys show that Biden still has a significant advantage among young people.
An Economist/YouGov poll last Sunday found 51% of voters under 30 supported Biden, compared to 32% for Trump, while a Harvard Youth Poll released Thursday showed Biden's lead over Trump among likely young voters at 19 percentage points.
"Donald Trump is not winning among young people," said John Della Volpe, the director in charge of the Harvard poll, for the British agency.
Biden's campaign staff is not sitting idle. In March, they launched a $30 million advertising campaign on digital platforms and announced a project to reach students and recruit volunteers at high schools and college campuses. It is working to inform younger people about the administration's investments in green energy and efforts to protect access to abortion.
"That's why the campaign is constantly working to win the vote of young voters - investing earlier than ever and using every opportunity to connect with young voters," said Eve Levinson, the campaign's director of youth engagement.
Still, the most recent Marist poll conducted in March was a red flag for Biden. It showed Trump leading by 2 points among millennials and Gen Z voters, with 61% of 18-29 year olds saying they disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president.
The Trump campaign sees young people as a demographic for potential gains in 2024, a campaign adviser told reporters last month. He said the economy and conflicts abroad - Trump often claims that Russia's attack on Ukraine would not be possible during his time in office - are key topics for communication with this group.
"Like many Americans, young people can't afford rent, gas, groceries, and are struggling to buy a home because wages have devalued," said Anna Kelly, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.
Kelly also pointed to the discovery of a Harvard poll - that only 9 percent of young Americans believe that the US is on the right track - which she interprets as evidence that some of them are turning to Trump.
Among young voters, Trump seems to enjoy more support among men.
The Harvard poll showed that Biden's advantage among young men is only 6 percentage points, which is a decrease of 20 points compared to 4 years ago. Trump's lead among women was 33 points, and remained largely unchanged.
Della Volpe states that this gender gap is probably the result of several factors. One of them is that young men feel they are losing their right to speak honestly because of progressive attitudes about political correctness and toxic masculinity, which they feel have been imposed. These fears are fueled by Trump and podcasters like Jordan Peterson, popular among young men.
During this election cycle, Trump attended several Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, which are popular among young men.
He also appeared at a sneaker convention in Philly where he put his golden "never give up" sneakers up for sale.
It's the kind of campaigning that should resonate with voters like Turner, a sneaker lover who was wearing a $400 pair of Nike sneakers when Reuters spent an afternoon with him at his kennel two days after the rally.
Turner talked about business challenges. He said that fuel is a big expense since he often has to drive for several hours at a time.
Turner said that his mother, who now supports Trump and was once a supporter of President Barack Obama, got him interested in politics.
Like other young people Reuters spoke to at the rally, Turner said he likes Trump's way of speaking regardless of the political consequences. He said that some of Trump's rhetoric worries him, but he pointed out that he believes - as Trump claims - that Biden is a real threat to America.
"Some of it is extreme," Turner said of Trump's narrative. "But at the same time, if it means that the country will be significantly more successful... and if it will still be a free country, I can handle having my feelings hurt in exchange for that."
Prepared by: NB
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