Gen Z Americans were a key part of President Trump’s winning coalition in 2024. Nearly two years later — and with early voting underway in multiple states for the midterms — some of that youth support has faded.
That sentiment was on display in a focus group, conducted last week, of eight Generation Z Trump voters, who reported varying degrees of unhappiness and disappointment over the state of politics, with some going as far as to say they regret supporting Trump in 2024.
The conversation was conducted virtually by Navigator Research, a left-leaning polling group. Participants ranged in age from 20 to 29 and spanned five states: Florida, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas and South Carolina — places Trump won by double digits in the last election. Two of those states, Texas and Ohio, are home to competitive races that could be key to control of the Senate.
For participants who now regret their vote for Trump, much of their frustration centers on what they see as a string of failed promises. When asked to give the president’s job performance a letter grade, a majority of participants, 6 out of 8, assigned him a grade of either D or F, while two selected C.
“I just feel like nothing went correctly. I just feel like everything got worse,” said John, a 29-year-old Black man from Florida. (Participants agreed to be part of the focus group on the condition that they be identified by only their first names.)
John, who identifies as a Republican and has voted for Trump since 2016, gave the president an F and said he now plans to support Democratic candidates this fall, in large part because of the strain he has felt from rising costs.
“I’m willing to give the other side a chance,” he added. “I don’t think they’re going to make a total change. But things are just horrible right now for me. So I feel like even if they make one or two small changes, it will probably benefit me.”
Though the focus group is not a nationally representative survey, the frustrations shared by participants echoed Navigator polling released in August, which found that nearly a third of Gen Zers — those under age 30 — regret voting for Trump, higher than older generations do.
Trump’s rising unpopularity among young voters isn’t in a vacuum. He has also lost ground with other key groups that shifted right in 2024, notably independents and Latino voters — and in a year when the Republican Party is facing political headwinds, it’s unclear whether that expanded coalition from two years ago can show up at the same strength now.
Shifting toward Democrats, or not
While some voters, like John in Florida, do feel compelled to vote blue this cycle in response to Trump, 4 of the 8 who took part in the focus group said they still planned to back Republicans this year. Three said they’d vote for Democrats; one participant said she was still deciding.
Matthew, a 25-year-old Black man living in Texas, said he doesn’t regret his support for the president and gave him a C grade.
“I feel like he’s done a really good job closing the border,” he said. “I also do appreciate his efforts in trying to end some of the conflicts that began under the last administration, besides the fact that the Iran conflict hasn’t really worked the best, from my perspective.”
He plans to vote in the midterm elections and argued that Trump will be able to carry out more of his agenda if Republicans can secure a larger majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, although national polls indicate that the GOP is more likely to lose seats.
But enthusiasm is a different question.
Courtney, a 20-year-old white woman based in South Carolina, said she doesn’t regret her vote for Trump in 2024 and overall aligns with Republicans, but she did admit she has grown more distrustful of both major political parties, particularly on foreign policy.
“I just really do feel like we would be in this situation either way. … Education, the economy, everything else would be so much better if we weren’t pumping money out into other countries that aren’t ours,” she said, referring to U.S. aid for Israel and the decision to go to war with Iran.
“I don’t think it matters what side you vote on — that’s why I voted red, because I agree with those policies more — but at the end of the day, what we do in the Middle East is going to be not at all up to [the] party [in power],” she said during the focus group.
That sense of political disaffection may underscore a growing challenge for both Republicans and Democrats moving forward as both try to repair ties with this generation.
“As we see people regret their vote for Trump, sour on the Republican Party and Republican policies, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re swinging right over to Democrats,” said Melissa Toufanian, the managing director at Navigator.
Toufanian points to Navigator’s own polling, which has found that even as the GOP has lost trust on economic issues, “it’s not a one-for-one with Democrats gaining that trust.”
“A lot of people are moving to this middle, this category that ‘I don’t trust either party,'” she said. “We are seeing people who are becoming increasingly pessimistic about our political parties and our political system, and they’re not feeling strongly that either party can really deliver for them.”

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A protester interrupted the final debate between Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson in Maine, triggering a heated exchange after Collins suggested the demonstrator was a Jackson supporter.
The interruption came amid a debate that saw the candidates trade fire over numerous issues. The race between Jackson and Collins, who is seeking a sixth term representing the blue-leaning Northern New England state, is a top flip opportunity for Democrats as they try to win back the Senate majority from Republicans in the midterm elections.
The latest public opinion polls indicate a race within the margin of error between Collins and Jackson, a one-time logger and former state Senate president. The latest Fox News Power Rankings rate the race as a toss-up, as do leading nonpartisan political handicappers the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
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The protester, who interrupted Collins as she spoke, yelled out, “I’m terrified. AI data centers are destroying our climate. They are poisoning our water.”
“30 years for what?” the demonstrator shouted, referring to Collins’ tenure in the Senate.
As security escorted the protester out of the debate hall, Collins suggested the man was a Jackson supporter.
“So, this is obviously one of Troy’s supporters,” Collins said.
Jackson quickly fired back, “Oh, shut up, I did not — I didn’t, I don’t even know who that kid.”
Another heated moment came a few minutes later when each candidate was able to ask a question of the other.
Jackson, who grew up in rural northern Maine in the same county as Collins, asked, “What I’m curious about — is it just me that you look down on, or is it working-class people overall?”
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The senator shot back, “Troy, I do not look down on you or on anyone. I grew up in Caribou. My first job was picking potatoes.”
As he works to oust Collins from the Senate, Jackson has repeatedly tried to anchor the senator to President Donald Trump, who has seen his approval ratings in Maine and across the country drop further underwater.
“The reality is 100% of the time when Donald Trump needs her, Susan Collins is going to be there,” Jackson claimed.
But Collins pointed to what she described as a “major difference between Troy and me. I vote very independently. … I am the most bipartisan member of the Senate.”
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And referring to Jackson, Collins said, “We don’t need more people who are going to vote a straight party line.”
Collins and Jackson spent much of the hour-long debate trading fire on issues, including the Iran War, immigration, rising fuel prices and electricity rates, budget deficits, Supreme Court reform, dark money in politics, an assault weapons ban and climate change.
Collins used the debate, the fourth between the two candidates over a two-week period, but the first with a live audience, to once again showcase how her Senate seniority has helped her deliver federal funding for Maine. Meanwhile, Jackson used the showdown to position himself as an outsider who understands the struggles and frustrations of working-class voters.
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Jackson won a special nominating convention in late July to claim the party’s Senate nomination, which was left vacant after primary winner Graham Platner ended his campaign following allegations he raped a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the allegations but dropped out.
Jackson, who earlier this year unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, had campaigned alongside Platner during the primary campaign.
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Collins, who is the only GOP senator seeking re-election in a state Trump lost in the 2024 election, has a history of surviving Democratic efforts to unseat her.
Six years ago, she trailed Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, the Maine House speaker at the time, but Collins won re-election by nearly nine points while former President Joe Biden carried the state by a similar margin.

Elon Musk spent Wednesday and Thursday stacking teases on top of Tesla’s Roadster event, and the wording is getting harder to read as routine hype. Tesla streams the unveil tonight at 7:55 p.m. Central on X. Musk has called it “a candidate for greatest product demo of all time,” then added that “this demo will be a BANGER, probably metaphorically, though some chance literally.”
The “some chance literally” part is the line to watch. The Roadster has been tied to a SpaceX option package since 2018, and as we reported when the date was announced, the system is reportedly codenamed A71 and uses cold gas thrusters fed by a composite overwrapped pressure vessel, the same tank design SpaceX uses on Falcon 9. Musk has said a thruster equipped car could reach 60 mph in about 1.1 seconds. Cold gas thrusters firing at full output are loud, and reports ahead of the event say the car will be unmanned with spectators kept several hundred yards back. A literal bang could simply mean a demonstration that sounds like one, though it is also an admission that something could go wrong on stage.
Then there is “Timing is everything,” which Musk posted a day earlier. Stocktwits noted that 7:55 p.m. is 19:55 on a 24 hour clock, which echoes 1955, the year Marty McFly travels to in Back to the Future. Musk has made that connection before. In 2019 he replied to an animation of a flying DeLorean by saying the new Roadster “will actually do something like this.” Nothing from Tesla confirms the movie reference, but the stream time was chosen by someone, and Tesla has not been shy about this kind of wink.
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Also, Tesla said it moved the event because it “can only be held outdoors,” and Musk then wrote that the demo was postponed “due to high winds,” as Teslarati covered at the time. A car running a standing start in front of a crowd shrugs off wind. A car that leaves the ground does not. The venue near SpaceX’s McGregor test site and the FAA airspace closures reported around the original date point the same way, though we also noted the delay could be a plain safety precaution. Musk has also described the new Roadster as “beyond movies, beyond imagination, beyond human, yet still made by humans on Earth.”
The only official figures remain the 2017 ones: 620 miles of range, a top speed above 250 mph, a 1.9 second 0 to 60 time, and prices of $200,000 for the base car and $250,000 for the Founders Series. Production is expected at Giga Texas in 2027 or 2028. Tesla has said the event will cover pricing, specifications and production targets, and its livestream preview has the full rundown. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, so whatever lands tonight will be fresh going into that call. We will have live coverage as soon as the stream starts.
Elon Musk said SpaceX will reimburse users if Grok Bot botches a purchase or leaks their card details. A few hours later he was telling users to take their shopping elsewhere after Amazon shut the agent out.
The first post was a reply to an X user who said Grok Bot booked him a flight after he sent a photo of his credit card. “This works well,” Musk wrote. “If Grok @Bot makes a mistake with a purchase or leaks your card (never happened yet), SpaceX will make you whole,” said Musk.
The second came after another user posted the error his Grok Bot hit on Amazon: “Continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon’s Conditions of Use, to which our customers have agreed.” The user said his bots can no longer order from the site. Musk answered, “Just ask Grok @Bot to buy what you want someplace else and get a better deal. There are far more purchasing websites than just Amazon!” He later added, “Maybe we should start a competitor to Amazon,” a possible hint at an X shopping service.
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The Amazon block did not start Thursday. A reply to Musk on October 10 said Amazon was blocking the bot, and Musk responded that Grok would find another way, then showed an order it placed on Lego’s website.
The latest reimbursement promise builds on late August when Musk told a Tesla investor weighing whether to give Grok Bot access to his bank accounts, “If Grok Bot messes up, we will make you whole,” as Teslarati covered when SpaceXAI added its Finance integration. That promise goes further than the company’s consumer terms, which make users responsible for what their agents do and generally cap liability at the greater of fees paid or $100. Neither Thursday post says those terms have changed, so for now it remains a statement on X rather than a published policy.
The two posts matter to Tesla owners because Grok Bot is no longer limited to a phone. Tesla brought it into its vehicles on September 22, and it is now enabled across every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet, as noted when Teslarati looked at why Grok Bot may be the Cybercab’s real advantage. A rider who asks for groceries or a coffee order is relying on retailers that let the agent in. Amazon has now said it will not, and Musk’s answer is to route around it.
Amazon has not commented publicly on the block in the posts Teslarati reviewed, and it is unclear whether Musk will follow through on a rival store.
So, how many of you do the vast majority of shopping on Amazon and hate that you do? Let us know how you feel about an Amazon alternative in our Facebook post.
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Elon Musk says the speed limit cutting out Ukraine’s military Starlink terminals is not SpaceX’s decision. In a post on X Wednesday, Musk wrote that “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” He added that Starlink is a commercial service limited to civilian or defensive activities and “cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.”
He was replying to Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s former defense minister, who had thanked Musk for restoring connectivity at speeds up to 160 km/h and said removing the Starshield limit entirely is “now critical for Ukraine’s defense.”
The complaint started Tuesday night, when Ukrainian officials said military terminals began losing service above roughly 100 mph. Presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said the defense forces got no warning and several missions were disrupted, as Teslarati reported earlier Wednesday. The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps told Reuters connections dropped for 10 to 20 seconds at speeds well below the limit, which made drones harder to control. Poland’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, asked Musk on X whether he is “playing politics with your products again.”
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That is why the Starlink and Starshield distinction matters. SpaceX introduced Starshield in 2022 as the government version of Starlink, with an initial focus on Earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. It won a Space Force contract in 2023 with a $70 million ceiling. In December 2024, the Pentagon moved Ukraine’s terminals onto Starshield, covering about 3,000 units across two contracts. Ukraine’s military connections therefore run through a service that Musk now says sits under Washington’s control.
SpaceX pitches subscription model for Trump’s Golden Dome
While Musk’s post describes who holds authority, it does not infer that anyone ordered the limit, and neither SpaceX nor the US government has confirmed who set it. Ukrainian officials have pointed to the timing, which follows President Trump’s push for an energy ceasefire and Musk’s Saturday post that “Zelensky has gone too far.” The BBC noted Trump denied threatening to restrict intelligence sharing with Kyiv, and no evidence has been presented that Washington requested the cap.
The episode also revives a promise from 2025. After Poland accused him of threatening Ukraine’s access, Musk said Starlink “will never turn off its terminals” and would not be used as a bargaining chip. Poland has since supplied more than 29,000 terminals to Ukraine. Teslarati also covered Kyiv’s search for Starlink alternatives in 2025, and the latest dispute gives that search new urgency.
Ukrainian officials are accusing SpaceX of placing a speed limit on the military version of Starlink that their forces use to fly drones, but SpaceX has not confirmed that any change was made. Presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said in a Telegram post on Wednesday that Starshield terminals have begun losing service when they move faster than about 100 miles per hour, according to a Reuters report. “Our defense forces did not receive a warning about this limitation, and this led to the disruption of several missions,” he wrote.
Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Reaction Corps told Reuters that connections dropped for 10 to 20 seconds at just 68 to 75 mph, which made the drones harder to control. Volunteer Serhiy Sternenko, citing military reports, said the dropouts are now starting at 37 to 43 mph. These accounts come from Ukrainian officials and military sources and have not been independently verified. Regular civilian terminals were reportedly not affected, according to EUalive.
SpaceX has not publicly commented or explained what, if anything, changed. Beskrestnov and other Ukrainian officials believe the issue is intentional and point to the timing. Washington has been pressing Kyiv to stop long range strikes on Russian oil refineries after President Trump called for an “energy ceasefire,” and Musk posted on Saturday that “Zelensky has gone too far.” EUalive noted that neither Ukrainian nor Polish officials have presented evidence that the limit was ordered by Washington or by SpaceX, so the link to politics remains an allegation. Other explanations, such as a technical or policy change affecting fast moving terminals, have not been ruled out.
Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, responded on X by quote tweeting a Kyiv Independent report and writing: “Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.” Poland is the largest funder of Ukraine’s Starlink service, having supplied more than 29,000 terminals and covering operating costs Sikorski has put at roughly $50 million a year. The wording echoes their 2025 clash, when Musk told Sikorski to “be quiet, small man.” At the time of writing, neither Musk nor SpaceX had responded to the claims.
The dispute sits on top of a long history. Musk confirmed in February 2022 that Starlink was active in Ukraine after a request from a Ukrainian minister. That October, SpaceX asked the Pentagon to share the bill and Musk said the cost was approaching $20 million a month, before he reversed course and said SpaceX would keep paying. In December 2024 the Pentagon moved some of those terminals onto the Starshield service, the government version now at the center of the complaints.
SpaceX has also changed how its network treats certain terminals in Ukraine before, and that time it was with Kyiv’s cooperation. In February, Ukrainian officials confirmed that terminals believed to be used by Russian troops were disabled after coordination with SpaceX, a step that Ukrainian commanders later said hurt Russian assaults. Whether anything similar is behind the latest reports is unclear, which is why Kyiv is asking for answers.
Ukraine is already looking at backups. Defense tech company Stetman is developing its own satellite system, UASAT-NANO, and officials in Europe have discussed alternatives to Starlink since early 2025, though none match its scale yet.

Donald Trump claims Iran war ‘will end very soon’
US president Donald Trump claimed the Iran war ‘will end very soon,’ as voters consider their options ahead of midterm elections that are taking place amid economic uncertainty and ongoing global conflict.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Trump said: “The Iran war will end very soon. It’s going to end very soon, as soon as I want it to end, it’ll end.” He added that Iran would “never have a nuclear weapon” and that oil prices would “drop like a rock”.
The US president has in recent weeks attempted to shift focus towards Ukraine, and has suggested that its attack on Russian refineries are responsible for rising fuel prices. His renewed messaging on Iran suggests that the price of daily goods – and gas at the tank – are having an impact at the polls.
Voting groups that are key to winning votes in the midterms are increasingly disenchanted with the economy, according to an exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian. Three in four Americans are now concerned about the potential for a recession.
Elsewhere:
James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, faced a grilling from undecided voters on a range of issues from Gaza to his faith at a town hall. Something he emphasized was his aspiration to put residents above party allegiance.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he felt ‘betrayed’ by the US after Ukraine’s military access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite was restricted. The US president has denied that the administration has cut intelligence sharing but Musk suggested on X that the US government was behind the restrictions.
Trump’s new press secretary Katie Zacharia is facing scrutiny over her claims that she’s a lawyer. Zacharia has clarified some of the questions but the big one remains: has she ever passed the bar?

Kimberly Guilfoyle
Greece
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a conservative personality and former politician, began serving as the ambassador to Greece in November 2025. She stepped down from her role in October after allegations of corruption.
Guilfoyle was made ambassador to Greece shortly after the end of her engagement to Donald Trump Jr, the president’s son.
She was accused of misconduct while serving as ambassador, such as promoting the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company, inviting Greek lobbyists to sit in on official diplomatic meetings, and asking an ally to pay off her $100,000 American Express card before her Senate confirmation hearing.
Charles Kushner
France
Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of Ivanka Trump and father of Jared Kushner, began serving as ambassador to France and Monaco in July 2025. He is a former attorney and real estate developer, as well as a Trump donor.
In February, Kushner was banned from a meeting with his counterparts after failing to show up for a summons regarding Kushner’s accusation that France allowed antisemitism and leftist extremism to run rampant.
Kushner was convicted of tax evasion, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and witness tampering. His conviction was later pardoned by Trump in 2020.
Bill White
Belgium
Bill White is the former president of the Intrepid museum. He began serving as the ambassador to Belgium in November 2025, after being nominated by Trump.
White has found himself in several public tiffs with Belgium’s foreign minister, Maxime Prévot. In February, the foreign minister admonished White for accusing Belgium of antisemitism.
In August, the foreign minister scolded White for calling a Belgian official a “loser” on social media, though White denied doing so.
Pete Hoekstra
Canada
Pete Hoekstra, a former Republican congressman from Michigan, began serving as the ambassador to Canada in April 2025.
Trump’s contentious relationship with the US’s northern neighbor has put Hoekstra in the spotlight. Over the summer, more than 200,000 Canadians signed a petition to expel Hoekstra for normalizing Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state.
Hoekstra has taken an openly critical stance toward Canada, most recently warning Canadians not to “meddle” in US politics before November’s US midterm elections.
Billy Long
Iceland
William “Billy” Long, a former Republican congressman from Missouri and auctioneer, began serving as the ambassador to Iceland in August 2026.
Long previously served briefly as the internal revenue commissioner but was removed, reportedly due to internal clashes with the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent.
Earlier this year, Long was forced to apologize after joking that the US would make Iceland its 52nd state.
Tom Rose
Poland
Tom Rose, a former conservative political commentator and adviser to Mike Pence, began serving as ambassador to Poland in November 2025.
In February, Rose announced he would cut off communications with a Polish politician who serves as the speaker of the lower house in the Polish parliament over “insults” toward Trump.
In return, Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, told Rose to “respect, not lecture” allies, which Rose rebuffed.
Kari Lake
Kari Lake, a longtime election denier and devout Trump ally, was tapped to serve as the ambassador to Jamaica in May 2026. Her nomination has not yet been confirmed.
Lake has a long history of promoting false claims of election fraud, including in her own races that she lost. More recently, she served in the administration as the head of Voice of America, a federally funded news group.
“Kari Lake is not the person for Jamaica,” Donald Tapia, who served as ambassador to Jamaica from 2019-2021, told the Miami Herald.
Luis Moreno, the ambassador to Jamaica from 2014 until 2017, told the Miami Herald that Lake was “not really a policy person”.
“It’s what we would call a lightweight appointment. I would expect lightweight efforts on her part, and what can I say? The Jamaican government will have to work with her because she’s an ambassador,” Moreno said.