Historically, younger voters tend to be more progressive, yet this year the gender divide has been splitting the youngest generation. While the general presidential race remains a statistical tie, the difference between who young men and young women are voting for is apparent. Recent NBC polling data suggests as much as a 16-point difference between the two candidates based on gender. Young men seem to be voting at a higher rate than usual, and strongly towards Trump. This analysis looks at the question, why are so many young men obsessed with Donald Trump?
The first thing to look at is the Harris campaign. They have counteracted the lean towards Trump with a strong showing from young women. One factor to consider is the media environment in which Harris has been performing. In recent weeks, Harris appeared on a variety of shows and podcasts including “Call Her Daddy” which, according to NPR, has a 70 percent female audience, and often discusses issues surrounding women’s rights and mental health. Whether these kind of appearances are causation or correlation is unclear, but either way, the Harris campaign clearly appeals to women across the nation, and she works to take advantage of that by sharing her message across platforms that have predominately female fan bases. Former President Trump on the other hand has taken things the opposite way and worked to bring out his votes in the “manosphere.”
In the podcast and social media world there are influencers and podcasters who have embraced masculinity and political incorrectness and essentially dedicated their shows to attacking the “woke takeover” of America. His budding relationship with the Nelk Boys, who have begun a large voter registration drive aimed at young men and turned their social media presence into another arm of the Trump campaign. Trump’s appearances at young, male, and traditionally masculine events like UFC fights and his recent Joe Rogan appearance show his continued attempt to appeal to that group of America which he believes could be key to driving his campaign to the White House. And it looks to be working. Young men have historically been one of the groups with the lowest voter registration and turnout rate, yet there is a clear growth amongst the group in this election cycle, and an even clearer attempt by the right-wing media to force this change to American politics. So what is it that makes a lewd and bombastic figure like Trump so appealing to young men?
The majority of these podcasts are centered around the theme of a government or deep state that is working to take away from the traditional white and male-centric establishment. Whether that comes through “wokeism,” vaccines, or whatever social grievance the right has chosen to shout about, these young white men have united into a coalition that has centered around Trump as a sort of counter-culture figure. This premise in itself is so absurdly wrong, as Trump has built his entire career on mainstream cultural ideals like game shows and elaborate displays of wealth, yet he has defined himself in the modern political space as a counter-cultural figure who is working to “drain the swamp.” In doing so, he has appealed to and driven out a base of men who are uncomfortable with gender and race being discussed in schools, and who feel tired of an America they perceive as actively working against them in the sense of pronouns and political correctness. This alliance and coalescing of ideas has occurred in the manosphere podcast space and through influencers like Logan Paul and Joe Rogan. By preaching to the “unseen men” who embrace these spaces Trump has exploited the cultural divide that was silently building for years, and in doing so has created this unique election space that exacerbates a previously hidden gender divide.
Even in extremely liberal parts of the country, the strategy appears to be working. Attending an all-boys school in Los Angeles, I have a unique insight into the way that Trump has affected young men, seeing as I am surrounded by 1300 of them myself. Coming from Los Angeles, I had expected the majority of support to be behind Harris, even in an all-male environment, yet when the mock election results came out, Trump finished with 60 percent of the vote, and Harris at 32 percent. The amount of Trump votes that were just trolling is unclear, but the fact that he even got so high shows a clear correspondence between young men and their intrigue in Trump. This is happening all across the city too. Conversations with students at other schools who also reveal that a significant portion of the men who are eligible to vote in their schools are either voting for Trump, or not voting at all. The message is loud and clear; No matter where you are, young men have been captivated by Trump.
This election is extremely close. An electoral college blowout for either side is within the margin for error on most polls, and so the game becomes which side can turnout more of their voters. Young men disgusted by the “woke takeover” of the country and emboldened by the culture war zeal that Trump embodies have flocked to him. The race comes at a key junction for the country; a chance to control how the nation proceeds. It is a fight between the old and the new, with Trump embracing the young men who are panicked by an America they see as moving too fast into socially progressive issues, and Harris pushing forward while encompassing those very issues that panic and anger conservatives.
