Yesterday, former President Donald Trump made a three-hour appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast popular with younger Americans—and especially popular with younger men.
The move was calculated: according to data from Media Monitors, 71 percent of Rogan’s audience is male, with an average age of 24.
In past cycles, a Republican candidate wouldn’t spend much time courting the youth—voters 30 and older have historically been far more favorable to the GOP than their younger counterparts, who often skew more liberal.
In 2020, President Joe Biden vastly overperformed Trump in support among young voters, according to national exit polling by CNN.
This year, Trump may be on track to significantly improve among younger voters, particularly those aged 18 to 44—a trend driven by men moving to the Republican Party.
About two dozen young men who spoke to The Epoch Times across the U.S. consistently cited economics as their biggest issue in the election, no matter who they were voting for. Housing, tax rates, and inflation were their most pressing concerns.
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“Being a young man in America, I feel like [Trump] sets me up for the best possible way, whether that be just entering the workforce or being able to afford things and save up my money,” 18-year-old Caleb Boyt, a behavioral therapist, told the Epoch Times.
Experts who spoke with The Epoch Times noted that economic pressures are often more immediate for men: women far outpace them in college enrollments, and high-paying blue-collar work is harder to find since the departure of manufacturers for cheaper labor markets overseas.
Sarah Chamberlain—the president and chief executive of The Republican Main Street Partnership, a moderate Republican political organization—focuses on polling women.
She told The Epoch Times that many young unmarried women bank on being able to find a partner who can provide for them—an option rarely available to men.
“I think women have the luxury to worry about other things,” Chamberlain said.
Thus, abortion and candidate personalities are more compelling and pressing issues for women, Chamberlain said.
Other young men indicated they were drawn to Trump’s masculine persona.
Several men who spoke to The Epoch Times referenced Trump’s response to the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Evan Vucci, File/AP Photo
A famous photo from the shooting shows Trump, surrounded by Secret Service agents, pumping his fist into the air as blood poured down his face. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the photo “badass” in an interview, a reaction shared by many men online.
Liem Jurley, an 18-year-old studying business at Kennesaw State, located just north of Atlanta, told The Epoch Times that Trump’s personality was a big draw for him.
When asked why he was backing Trump, Jurley responded, “Because he’s cool.” He said that he knows many men who feel the same.
“We’re the bros, and we’re all supporting Trump,” he said.
Luke Meadows, an 18-year-old studying accounting at Kennesaw State, also referenced Trump’s personality.
“Trump is probably more popular because he seems cooler [to young men],” Meadows said.
Trump’s personality often has the opposite effect on women. Many young women who spoke to The Epoch Times cited personality as a leading reason for their opposition to Trump.
“The personality that drives the men there [toward Trump] is driving the women away,” Chamberlain said.
Others suggested that social media and the prominence of figures like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, and Joe Rogan contributed as well.
Others simply feel they’ve been left behind by identity politics.
“I have definitely seen young men feeling increasingly alienated and attacked by Democrats and the left … [and] broadly the sort of woke movement on the American left in general,” Connor Alford, who teaches political science at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, told The Epoch Times.
In conjunction with their declining economic prospects, Alford posited that many men feel “villainized” by the left even as they face their own struggles—higher suicide rates, more dangerous occupations, and much higher rates of homelessness.
Brian Seitchik, a Republican strategist, told The Epoch Times that Democrats are “focused on issues that are just not as important to men,” such as abortion.
Ultimately, though there are concerning signs for Democrats among young men, it remains to be seen whether these warnings will pan out on Election Day.
