College student views on Trump and politics

Eight Texas Southern University students shared differing views on how President Donald Trump’s presidency has influenced young people’s interest in politics and government. While opinions varied, many said the current political climate has become increasingly polarized, leaving some young people discouraged or feeling unheard. Others said heightened attention to politics and social media has motivated more people to stay informed and participate in civic discussions. Several students emphasized the importance of voting, staying informed about political issues, and paying closer attention to local government, while others expressed concerns about the economy, employment opportunities, and the influence of social media on political perspectives.

“I don’t really try to focus on the presidency too much since politics is really crazy nowadays,” said Rayl. “But I feel like President Trump is a good businessman. Politically, I haven’t seen much lately. I don’t get into that that much, but he’s doing pretty good in my opinion.”

“It’s changed it to where they feel like now it’s really no room for change,” said Payne. “I feel like they feel at this point it’s just whatever Trump wants to do. Whatever we feel is an injustice, it doesn’t really get anywhere because we don’t have anyone really listen to us or really care about how we feel.”

“I feel like it’s pulling away from people,” said Yancy. “People my age, yeah, we’re interested in politics, but while this crazy man is in office, what really discourages us is the changes that are not being made. Having Trump in office, it’s kind of making a joke out of us if you really want to be honest. For me, voting is important. If you really want to make a change, vote. That’s all you need to do: vote, educate yourself, and make a change.”

“I don’t really appreciate any of the atrocities that are happening overseas,” said Harrison. “I can guarantee you that a lot of the younger people around my generation also feel the same. I don’t think anything that he’s done within this year has benefited the economy socially or globally, and I also don’t believe that running for a third term is legal.”

“I feel like Donald Trump’s presidency has changed young people’s view on the presidency a lot in a negative way,” said Sanders. “It’s ridiculous, and it’s almost childish. If we were still back in 2014 – 2016, there would be none of this when Barack Obama was still president. When Barack Obama was president, everybody was trying to vote because he knew what it meant to be president. He knew how to step up and take care of this country. When people needed things done, he got them done. He took care of the country and took care not only of the people who were in need but people who said something and used their voice.”

“I think that a lot of people are actually affected by social media more and that interloops with Trump and his homies like Elon Musk because they’ve started to control how the algorithms work in social media,” said Williams. “So, now you want engagement on social media because it’s ad-driven revenue. Since you want engagement, you need polarizing algorithms. A lot of people are getting shown content that is very polarizing, making people swing one way or the other in an extraordinary fashion. So, I think with young people, we’re trying to figure out what the actual truth of it all is now instead of just getting swirled around by the algorithm.”

“Personally, I just feel like they feel like it’s trash now,” said Assefa. “They feel like maybe they don’t even need college anymore because it’s harder to get a job even with a degree like and masters.”

“I actually think that over time we’ve been able to see people make their dreams come true,” said Cashin. “We have to keep in mind that Trump was an outsider, and he was a celebrity, a huge celebrity that just happened to have access to people who had the type of money to finance his cause. Because he’s an outsider, he can say things and make executive orders, and he doesn’t feel the gravitas of his decisions. He just knows that they’re well within his rights, and he knows which rules to break and which rules he can bend. One thing I can say is that it really shines a light on local government, which a lot of people don’t pay as much attention to. They don’t feel the effects of the presidency like they would because the offices are in Washington DC. But in local government, you have to look for the people who represent your causes.”