In the 2024 presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump significantly gained support across every demographic group. However, one group that stood out, with a 15% swing towards Trump, was young men.
One of the biggest factors in this shift has been the rise of right-leaning masculine figures. YouTubers The Nelk Boys, streamer Adin Ross, comedian Theo Von, and podcaster Joe Rogan are several examples.
Social media has made it easy for young men to receive these messages. Unlike traditional legacy media, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube are geared toward younger generations.
Trump appeared on the podcast ten days before the election to advocate for his campaign. Trump and Rogan talked for over three hours and amassed nearly 50 million views on YouTube.
The Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most popular podcasts in the world, with much of its content geared towards men. Often, guests advocate conservative viewpoints, although the podcast itself is not officially partisan in any way.
Trump appeared on the podcast ten days before the election to advocate for his campaign. Trump and Rogan talked for over three hours and amassed nearly 50 million views on YouTube.
Many clips from this episode of the Joe Rogan Experience were posted to TikTok and YouTube Shorts, places where young men frequently consume content.
Similarly, in late August Trump appeared on This Past Weekend with comedian Theo Von. Many men, especially young men, are interested in comedy. Therefore, they are interested in Von’s thoughts and opinions.
Von and Trump talked about various topics, including the most viral conversation about drugs. Once again, several clips were taken of these moments and turned into short-form content.
Trump also appeared with streamer Adin Ross, who has a large following of young men. They danced together, and Ross gave the candidate a brand new Trump-themed Tesla Cybertruck.
YouTube pranksters the Nelk Boys also have a primary audience of young men. Recently, they have begun to focus more on generating right-wing content. They met up with Trump and joked around together on a private plane.
Nowadays, convincing people with rhetoric and debate may not be very effective. Campaigns must begin to focus on appealing to the emotions, interests, and role models of the voting bases they wish to sway.
Another major factor in this shift of young men to the right is the inability of many of them to relate to Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris has broken many gender barriers, being the first female Vice President in the history of the nation. Still, it may be difficult for young men to see this as an accomplishment, especially when the other option is a stereotypically masculine man with support from many of their role models.
At a school such as Haverford, it is easy to understand how young men think. Clearly, many students support the President-elect.
“I personally relate more to Trump than I do to Harris,” Fourth Former Taha Obuz said. “I shouldn’t be expected to support someone who I cannot draw any personal connection to.”
“I think at an all-boys school, it comes down to one thing: Trump is a man,” Joseph Kahana said. “For many people who get their information from social media, it comes down to the relatability. Unfortunately for Harris, young men cannot relate to her.”
