Even though most millennials voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. election, about a third supported Donald Trump for president. Now, more than a year later, a new report is shedding light on what motivated them to support the Republican candidate — and how they feel about the job he is doing in the White House. Spoiler alert: The results might surprise you.
About 35% of millennials who voted cast a ballot for Trump in 2016, according to the 2017 Millennial Impact Report. (About 51% voted for Hillary Clinton, 12% for a third-party candidate, and 2% didn't vote for any presidential candidate.)
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The study, conducted by Achieve and supported by The Case Foundation, analyzed data from more than 3,000 millennials surveyed across the U.S. It found that about 73% of millennials who voted for President Trump said they're either "satisfied" or "extremely satisfied" with his performance in the White House so far and 62% think the U.S. is headed in the right direction. Only 6% of his supporters reported they were unsatisfied with the president, and 21% remained neutral.
The racial and ethnic makeup of the respondents who said they voted for Trump was 77% white, 12% Latinx, 6% Black, and 4% Asian. About nine in 10 of the supporters interviewed said they typically speak up about the causes or policies they care about, and the three issues that are most important to them were employment, healthcare reform, and immigration. (Civil rights and discrimination were the #1 issues for millennials in general, followed by employment and healthcare reform.)
When it comes to the issues they care about, millennial Trump supporters take similar steps to millennials overall: They do things like calling their elected officials, participate in marches, and sign petitions. But two key differences between them and other millennials is that Trump supporters are less likely to think social media can help enact change or to determine whether to buy a product or service based on the company's stance on certain issues.
But overall, the millennials who support President Trump are among the most actively involved people of their generation.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story cited the racial and ethnic makeup of millennial Trump supporters incorrectly. It has since been updated.
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