Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have radically different political standpoints, personal backgrounds, and hairstyles. But their young supporters agree on at least one thing: The American Dream is in dire straits.
Young people who support Sanders and Trump are less likely than young supporters of any other presidential candidate to agree with the statement that “the American Dream is alive for me.” The finding comes from a Harvard Institute of Politics poll of 18-to-29-year-olds released Thursday.
Overall, about half of young people say the American Dream is alive for them, and half say it is dead for them. But only 39% of Trump supporters and 44% of Sanders supporters agree that the dream is alive—and that discontent is fueling their insurgent candidacies.
A Fusion poll published last week found that young people are significantly less likely than they were a generation ago to say that the American Dream has real meaning for them.From that poll:
One thing we do see reflected in the numbers, whatever is feeding them, is that more young white Americans feel disconnected from the idea of the American Dream while the percentage of young people of color who felt an attachment to—or apathy about—it has remained steady.Percent who say that the American Dream is very much alive
...................................1986......2015
White............................34.........15
Nonwhite .....................18.........18
