One of the biggest struggles in these elections is the struggle for youngcredulous men of all races seem less firmly in the Democratic column than they did just four years ago.
For the former president Donald Trumpthis meant appearing on podcasts and alternative media platforms popular with young men and tailoring their voting efforts to some of these.low inclination” voters. For Vice President Kamala Harris, that meant a shift in tone and message from recent Democratic campaigns, a targeted ad blitz, and a running mate whose bid was heavily enveloped in the subtext of what it means to be a man in the 2020s.
Underlying this focus on men is a new conversation about the future of masculinity and the challenges facing young men in America who have spent their adult lives largely in a Trump-dominated, post-#MeToo political era.
Ross Morales, co-founder of Rocketto White Friends for Harristhe country “is talking about masculinity right now as it relates to politics,” he said.
“Masculinity is in crisis,” he said. “And I think that conversation is long overdue.”
The survey played a big role in driving this conversation. Stay tuned for NBC News/SurveyMonkey Poll of Gen Z adults conducted at the end of August found that while young women favored Harris by 30 points over Trump, young men favored Harris by just 4 points.
Richard ReevesThe founder and president of the American Institute on Boys and Men said the shift in political views among young men is the result of leftists feeling less at home on the left than previous generations because of a reluctance to talk about issues. men are particularly encountered when describing them as problematic from time to time.
“It’s partly because of the kind of gender dynamics at play on the left,” she said. “More sense [political] homelessness and more a little separation, a little withdrawal. This is not a right-wing crowd.”
“We feel silent in this country”
There is dynamic Trump, with men trying to get their numbers back up to 2016 levelsis focusing his campaign on a kind of hypermasculinity that was on full display at his party’s convention this fall — with a former pro wrestler ripping his shirt off on stage and being introduced by Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White for Trump’s speech. .
His effort goes beyond such obvious images. Strategists supporting Trump launched a $20 million campaign called “Send the Vote.” in August increase activity among young people. The former president has made podcast appearances with hosts such as comedian Theo Vaughn, influencer Logan Paul and broadcaster Adin Ross; In one with Ross, Trump made sure to say “Barron says hi” and is “a big fan of yours,” referring to his young son.
Trump’s decision to pick Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, as his running mate was also made with some of those voters in mind, as Vance is the youngest person to serve on a major party ticket in generations.
In the last weekTrump’s campaign has begun running digital ads targeting men under 35 in battleground states. The ad criticizes Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for imposing the state’s tobacco tax on Zyn, a nicotine pouch popular among youth. The ad ends with a pro-Trump influencer at a Trump rally saying, “Trump 2024, that’s it. Let’s go.”
Trump and his campaign have often targeted Walz, calling him “Tampon Tim.” Misrepresentation of Minnesota law This requires schools to provide menstrual products in student restrooms. Trump boosters mocked Walz’s masculinity online, trying to block paths with men who could be persuaded.
One Trump-world operative said that Trump’s strategy with young men, including young black and Hispanic men, polls have shown Trump doing better than in the past — made possible by what he sees as a fading “social stigma” around supporting him. Compared to his runs in 2016 and 2020.
“Trump is a very cool candidate,” this person said. “Look, the fact that people like Theo Vaughn, Logan Paul and Nelk Boyce, right in the middle of our culture’s zeitgeist, would be willing to openly associate with Trump would have been unthinkable five years ago.”
Trump also entered these spaces, appealing to cryptocurrency investors Own line of NFT tokens and even presents brand of sports shoes.
Even in these places, Trump’s message is the same as it is to other segments of the population: rising prices, undocumented immigration and fighting crime, said Brian Hughes, a top adviser to Trump.
“Are we communicating with subdivisions and demographics? Sure,” Hughes said. “Do we make some of those communications more relevant to each of those demographics? Sure.”
One Trump campaign staffer predicted that changes among young men and a widening gender gap are the result of a “branding problem” that will “haunt Democrats for generations,” saying some Gen Z men “see it as an issue” to vote for Trump. protest action”.
“Young men in this country — black and white — know that the Democratic Party does not prioritize them, their accomplishments, or their stories,” he said. “Trump appeals to young people because we feel voiceless in this country.”
Harris’s two-pronged strategy: Sport and play
On the opposite side of this help Trump A campaign that prioritized outreach to women, especially in the suburbs, where Democrats have made consistent gains since 2016. In part because of this, as well as in the 2022 Roe v. With the case against Wade dismissed, the Harris campaign now sees an opportunity to expand its reach. women without a college education, a key Trump demographic.
“Well, I’m not going to comment on his strategy, but as a candidate, I’m targeting both. [men and women],” Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., told NBC News last month at a campaign event for suburban women in suburban Philadelphia. “We don’t target one gender against another.”
“I think there’s a lot of common ground here that people care about,” he said. “Many men there care about women’s rights and want their daughters and granddaughters to have the same rights as their mothers and grandmothers. “There are many men who are interested in childcare because it affects the family budget and it affects their lives.”
For Harris, trying to reach these men looks a little different. Consultants caution that while they focus on messaging to reach young men in particular, they envision a broader universe of target voters.
“I think he should focus on the general population and those most likely to vote, not gender IMO,” Mark Cuban, a billionaire businessman and Harris surrogate, said in an email. “Whoever is more likely to vote is where he should focus. And I think he does. There is only [36] days left. He must reach the highest probability of voting. The goal is to win the election, not a specific demographic.”
Still, the Harris campaign is ramping up its efforts to reach young men on platforms like Twitch and IGN, leading video game platforms with large male audiences. It also spends a large portion of its advertising budget on major sporting events — such as NFL, college football and Major League Baseball games — to reach these voters. His message to these voters is mainly focused on the economy.
On Saturday, the Harris campaign launched “Sportsmen for Harris,” highlighting the endorsements of 15 NFL Hall of Famers. The bottom line from their press release: “Athletes are among the most reliable voices for key voting blocs, especially young men, making them uniquely qualified campaigners for Vice President Harris and Governor Waltz.”
While Harris’ allies have questioned Trump’s podcast-focused strategy — one adviser said his appearances were a “one-off” rather than a more consistent targeting effort — he recorded appearance on All the Smoke, a popular NBA podcast hosted by two former players. An insider said he could be expected to perform at similar shows in the coming weeks. (Some Democrats have suggested that he or Walsh appear on Joe Rogan’s widely used podcast.)
“Trump’s effort is basically to get him to go to a UFC match, do some podcasts. They are photo-ops,” said the Harris consultant. “Our bet, and I think it’s a good bet when you look at the profile of these voters, is that we shouldn’t rely on a few one-off things to make our case here because they’re not interested in politics. Not just because it’s less well-known, but to really bring them into the lineup, it needs to wear out.”
“We must create space for people”
Reeves, president of the American Institute on Boys and Men, said he’s seen a shift in Democratic messaging around men and masculinity this campaign season, saying that Harris leading the ticket is actually making room for “a different performance around masculinity on the left.”
“So far there’s been almost nothing around some kind of issue of toxic masculinity or patriarchy,” she said, adding that while abortion rights were front and center in the campaign, “there’s not a very strong sense” that it’s somehow gender-driven. is to be.”
Although Walz possessed some traits of traditional masculinity, the campaign leaned toward him resume as a high school football coachNational Guard, hunter and lover yard work – he also talked about the support he gave to his school gay-straight alliance and his and his wife’s struggles with infinity.
The next step Reeves wants to see Democrats take is to start talking more openly about the issues facing men, especially young men: deterioration of educational resultsa a higher degree suicide and economic problems for working-class men.
“The neglect of men’s issues, especially young men, has really been going on for some time and serious work is needed to convince young men that we really have their backs.” “And whoever is in power will have to take on that responsibility.”
Horse at the forefront of these efforts Left in recent weeks White Friends for HarrisHarris held a widely publicized Zoom shortly after submitting his proposal and continued to reach out to the men in the weeks that followed. Its organizers want to change how Democrats talk about men and men’s issues.
“For the last 20 to 30 years, while we’ve had messages that are appropriate for everyone, we haven’t had messages that are tailored for men,” White Dudes co-founder Rocketto told Harris. “We have to try other things. We have to create a place for people.”
Mike Nellis, one of the White Dudes organizers for Harris, said he personally deals with mental health issues and feels there is a void on the left for some of these issues to be discussed openly.
“If you look at the problems that young people face: Lack of economic opportunities is one of them, lack of growth and wages is one of them. But you also have the isolation and loneliness and suicidal thoughts and these deaths of despair that happen and that especially plague the white male community. I can’t imagine any other group of people in this country [problems] like it won’t be talked about all the time.”