A new NBC News Decision Desk/SurveyMonkey poll of more than 30,000 adults confirms young Americans — especially women who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election — are moving away from traditional American values.
The survey included nearly 3,000 Gen Z adults (ages 18–29) and pinpoints a deep cultural divide, not only between men and women but also between Trump supporters and those aligned with the Biden-Harris agenda. When it comes to defining a successful life, the differences are striking.
Gen Z men who backed President Trump prioritized family, faith, and financial independence, with having children as their top marker of success. Their leading values also included marriage, spiritual grounding, and making family or community proud.
Among Harris voters — especially women — the picture was starkly different. Having children ranked near the bottom, with marriage even lower and spirituality largely dismissed. Instead, they prioritized emotional stability, self-fulfillment, career employment, and using their talents to help others. By contrast, Trump-supporting women placed greater value on spiritual grounding and home ownership — markers of responsibility and long-term commitment.
In 2024, weeks before the presidential election, Business Insider reported: “In a 2023 Pew survey, more than seven in 10 single women identified as a Democrat or leaned Democratic, compared with 45% of married women. … A recent Ipsos survey found Harris leading among single women voters by nearly 40 points.”
The NBC poll found nearly two-thirds of Gen Z women feel anxious “most” or “all of the time.” Critics say the generation is trading traditional sources of stability for a new moral code that rejects the foundations of Western civilization.
Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh highlighted the gender divide in values in a post on X:
Having children was the most important thing to men. It was least important to women. Tells you everything you need to know. https://t.co/TdSgdFrdIi
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 8, 2025
