Attention, American men: Donald Trump and his allies want you to believe your vote says big things about your masculinity.
In the final weeks before the Nov. 5 election, the Republican nominee is amping up his hypermasculine tone and support of traditional gender roles, a reflection of the surgical campaign-within-a-campaign for the in a showdown with Democratic Vice President .
But where Harris is deploying 鈥渄udes鈥 who use bro-ey language and occasional scolding to boost her support particularly among Black and Hispanic males, Trump's camp is meeting men in alpha-male terms, often with crude and demeaning language. That means he appears on podcasts, gaming platforms, and alongside surrogates who define American manliness as a vote for the former Republican president.
鈥淚f you are a man in this country and you don鈥檛 vote for Donald Trump, you鈥檙e not a man,鈥 Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk said on his podcast.
Subtle, it's not. But the razor's edge contest between Trump and Harris elevates the importance of small caches of voters who are apathetic or on the fence in the battleground states poised to decide the election. So in a twist on gender and identity politics, both camps are reaching out beyond their ideological bases.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that鈥檚 a sign of strength, because that鈥檚 what being a man is?鈥 former President scolded Black men last week in 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not acceptable.鈥
The polls and history tell the story of the candidates' pursuit of support from men. Trump, who has a long history of denigrating women and bragging about the size of his body parts, won among men in 2016, when he defeated Democrat and in 2020, when he lost to President Joe Biden.
This year, men appear to be leaning toward Trump and women toward Harris, though the size of the gap varies across polls. Both campaigns are working toward stronger showings among genders where their support is weak 鈥 or at least losing less among those groups.
"We cede zero ground in reaching the voters who will decide this election," said Harris campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster. Meanwhile, he said, Trump's approach is "hardly a way to win over voters, especially women.鈥
The nation has an unbroken list of male presidents, who have been presented as father figures, role models and archetypes of American masculinity. Their ranks have included military heroes, including George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Lawmakers such as Abraham Lincoln, Obama and Biden. A son of the South, Bill Clinton. An actor-turned-governor in Ronald Reagan. And scions like John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush 鈥 a Texas rancher.
Then there鈥檚 Trump, the New York developer and entertainer whose political fortunes have survived a troubled presidential term, , a jury verdict for sexual assault and two assassination attempts. He rose from a shooting in July, blood-splattered and fist raised, yelling, 鈥淔ight, fight, fight!鈥
The Trump campaign said men like Kirk 鈥渁re our teammates in our shared mission to win this election.鈥 But even their statement nods to Trump鈥檚 emphasis on toughness and his grievance toward the media.
鈥淭he notion that women need to be coddled and can鈥檛 be tough is a fake media narrative,鈥 said campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez.
He's taking a paternalistic approach as part of a strategy that his campaign hopes could help him not just among men, but also among suburban women who might hesitate supporting him. Trump has long aimed
鈥淚 think women like me because I will be your protector,鈥 he told supporters in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday, in remarks about illegal immigration. 鈥淭he women want protection. They don鈥檛 want these people pouring in.鈥
Last week, Trump called radio host Howard Stern, whose audience is overwhelmingly male, a 鈥淏ETA MALE鈥 on Truth Social. He a female protester at one event should 鈥済o back home to Mommy鈥 to 鈥済et the hell knocked out of her.鈥 His spokesperson, Steven Cheung, tweeted ridicule of Harris鈥 campaign using a sexualized slang term 鈥 鈥渃ucked鈥 鈥 as apparent shorthand for weakness and submission.
He often muses on stage about his advisers counseling him to change so he would better appeal to women 鈥 but then dismisses their advice.
In a series of twists on the ever-present gender gap and identity politics, young women are growing more liberal, but young men are not. Most Hispanic women , but Hispanic men are more . Alarm bells sounded in Democratic ranks last weekend over about among Black men. And some young men feel culturally disaffected in the age of and .
In the election's closing weeks, those dynamics could spell opportunity for the campaigns as they seek to carve more support from whisper-thin slices of the electorate that have yet to choose a side.
鈥淭here does seem to be a battle in this campaign to define masculinity,鈥 Jack Z. Bratich, a communications professor at Rutgers University, wrote in an email. Trump, he said, is 鈥渉arnessing their insecurities and resentments so they feel empowered to vote for him as a way of restoring patriarchal order.鈥
Harris has unveiled a plan to give . She sat for a town hall Tuesday with Charlamagne tha God, an influential radio host. Harris, too, wants you to know that and that her favorite curse word, as , starts with an 鈥渕鈥 and ends with 鈥渁h.鈥 (After letting out a trademark chuckle, she clarified further: 鈥淣ot 鈥榚-r.鈥欌) She's also announced that she'll step outside her ideological comfort zone for . That was enough to activate Trump.
鈥淔ox has grown so weak and soft on the Democrats,鈥 he groused on Truth Social, his social media platform. For his part, Trump is also appearing on Fox News this week in an all-female town hall.
In a sign of how important the votes of men are to Harris' campaign as well: Men are appealing to men to support her. Hence the birth of 鈥淒udes for Harris,鈥 "Hombres con Harris" and Black Men Huddle Up鈥 events in battleground states.
鈥淲hat the hell are you waiting for?鈥 demanded gravelly voiced actor Sam Elliott in an ad by the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. 鈥淏ecause if it's the woman thing, it's time to get over that.鈥
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Kellman reported from London. Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report from New York.
