According to this breathless Axios report, the fall election is the “boys vs. girls” election. I could be mistaken but it sure sounds like they think the “boys” are the big winners in that contest:
Top Trump advisers tell us that when the Republican National Convention opens in Milwaukee on Monday, the contrast they want pervading social media is ultimately “weak vs. strong.” Onstage, it’ll be the testosterone party. It’s Donald Trump’schest-beating macho appeals vs. Joe Biden’s softer, reproductive-rights-dominated, all-gender inclusivity.
[…]
Share of 18- to 29-year-olds who identify as liberal, by gender
Among 1,000+ U.S. adults 18 to 29 years old surveyed annually from 1999-2023
The line chart shows the percentage of American men and women aged 18-29 who identify as liberal from 1999 to 2023. The data reveals a general upward trend over the years, with women consistently identifying as liberal at a higher rate than men. The gap grew in the 2010s and beyond, with 40% of women identifying as liberal compared to 25% of men in 2023.
In theory, most of these trends should favor Biden.
[…]
But in most polls, Trump has led in most of the six big swing states — thanks largely to the swing in men toward Trump.
John Della Volpe — Harvard Institute of Politics polling director, and director of Harvard Youth Poll — tells us: “For a new generation of young male voters whose first impression of Donald Trump was almost a decade ago (when they were middle school age), he’s an anti-hero sticking it to a system viewed as slow, ineffectual and corrupt.”
“That image has been echoed tens of millions of times through social media, podcasters, in gamer and other communities,” Della Volpe says.
There’s more. And it’s unpleasant to read. Trump’s “surge” among men after his “frail” performance by 23 points and Biden’s “ticked up” 8 points after the debate according to the Oracle of DelphiNew York Times/Siena poll.
The GOP convention is apparently looking to exploit this alleged advantage by featuring wife beaters and golf pros:
Dana White, the macho president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the hottest sport for testosterone-charged fans, will introduce Trump, whose rhetoric and policies shoot right into the bloodstream of his male-dominated base. White, a controversial figure in his own right, apologized last year after being filmed slapping his wife at a nightclub.
The “everyday Americans” who’ve been announced as speakers include typical convention fare (a rancher, a steamfitters union leader, three decorated war heroes) — plus John Nieporte, head golf pro at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, and Carrie Ruiz, golf general manager at Trump National Doral in Miami.
Update: Tucker Carlson will have a prime-time slot, the N.Y. Times scoops.
Ooh baby. I’m not sure how the reporter meant this next sentence but I know how it sounds:
Can you imagine a hunter, a cage-fight promoter and a convicted felon dazzling the DNC? They’d be canceled before they entered the arena.
“Canceled” Oh yuck, amirite?
He goes on to say that the Dems plan to offer a “softer celebration” of diversity and featuring abortion rights “the one topic” they think won them the off year elections. (That’s not ttue — they were won on a whole host of issues, including a strong resistance to the fascist takeove of our democracy. I guess you can call that “soft” but it really isn’t. At all. )
Anyway, who cares about that:
Trump’s first public appearance after his felony convictions (based on hush money to a porn star) was at a UFC fight in Newark, where he and White were greeted by a rip-roaring crowd of mostly young men.
The thunderous and carefully choreographed entrance culminated in a viral handshake with UFC commentator Joe Rogan — whose millions of podcast listeners skew 80% male.
Not long after, Trump appeared on the popular podcast All-In, co-hosted by four towel-snapping dudes. Tech bros are a rising group of swing voters for Trump.
Trump’s so cool. A real macho dude. His orange make-up is especially manly along with this “Flock of Seagulls” shellacked yellow hair. In fact, if you didn’t know better he might even be a drag queen which we know all these super masculine Trump lovers greatly admire.
And they almost always vote in larger numbers: In 2020, 74% of adult U.S. women said they voted, vs. 71% of men. That split has held true for 40+ years — in every presidential election beginning in 1980, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.
There’s also a big split in registration: 89 million women told census surveyors they were registered in 2020, vs. 79 million men. (Explore the data.)
