If you haven’t heard, Donald Trump is the president again. 

Amongst the multitude of reasons that have been presented as the definitive cause for his re-election, one of the most surprising was his popularity among Gen-Z men, a generation that seems to be more conscious of social inequality and more vocal in their support of progressive policies than any generation before.  

This is a complex issue that doesn’t have one catch-all explanation but the most all encompassing one is masculinity and the dying breath of its once accepted definition. 

According to AP VoteCast surveys, in 2024, young men backed Trump by a 14-point margin and young women backed Harris by a 17-point margin. Trump’s share of the young male vote increased from 41 percent in 2020 to 56 percent in 2024.

Clearly, sentiment has changed amongst young male voters in America in a pretty significant way. 

They might not have been the sole reason that Trump won the election, but they definitely played a key part in restoring Donny boy to his golden throne. 

American culture has long been one where the ideals of masculinity revolve around family. The very idea of ‘being a man’ is independence, a certain measure of financial freedom and the ability to provide for and protect your family.

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, that was a real possibility. A young man could expect to graduate high school and, college degree or not, work a single full time job and support his family. He could buy a house, have a car, take a trip every once in a while and probably send his kids to college for a chance at an easier life than he had. 

The American Dream wasn’t just a concept then, it was a reality that millions of young men were able to reach for. 

Nowadays? You’d be hard pressed to find even a dozen young men who feel all that confident in their future or their ability to live a life even on par with their parents and grandparents. 

These guys don’t want a million dollars or a sports car. Some may, but they are few and far between and the average young man simply wants the chance to make something of himself, something important.

He wants to matter. To feel like his life has a purpose, to be of service and protect the ones he cares about. The dying breath of traditional and oft dubbed ‘toxic’ masculinity has left younger generations of men with the same blueprint for success that older generations were given when the rug has long been pulled out from under them. 

Throughout the 21st century, the ideals of masculinity have no doubt shifted. Restrictive gender roles and harmful expectations have given way to a more socially conscious generation that champions individuality and freedom to live a life that makes you happy, not one that is expected of you. 

Amidst this backdrop of changing ideals of masculinity came Donald Trump. 

Former reality T.V. host and current loose cannon who burst into the political arena with all the elegance and grace of a horse suddenly let loose in a hospital. 

He came, he saw and he conquered, you know the story. 

But then, he fell. 

Like Icarus flying too close to the sun, Trump’s handling and subsequent fumbling of the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic and mounting societal conversations on police brutality and social justice paved the way for a Joe Biden victory and suddenly, the golden throne was empty. 

Biden moved in and Trump moved out, not quietly or peaceably, but he did leave the house and some thought, for good. 

How could one come back from something as infamous as January 6th? Anyone else would have been dead to rights, at least politically, if not legally, but Trump is no ordinary politician, if you could even call him a politician at all. 

Trump did not go quietly into that good night. He didn’t rest on his laurels and thank his lucky stars that he was still a free man after innumerable controversies and legal issues. He regrouped, got new people around him with a new plan to take back the throne that he to this day claims was wrongfully stolen from him. 

While all that was happening, things were rocky. Social justice issues took center stage for a while, the pandemic was mind-breaking insanity that it feels like we still have not fully collectively processed and through it all, a sense of normalcy returned to politics. 

The same old, same old, the devil you know. The career politician that you’re pretty sure is a decent person but is certain is not going to make any major decisions that forever alter the fortunes of the working class in America. Nothing radical in policy or conduct, pretty boring all things considered, but a welcome calm after a four year whirlwind of all capital letter tweets. 

Things did get better for a time and Biden banked up a lot of good will with the average voter. 

Until they got worse. 

The economy got worse and Trump pounced on blaming Biden. Illegal immigration numbers soared and Trump was quick to dub it the “Biden Border Crisis,” and all of the sudden, people were not so comfortable in their normalcy. 

Young men took a look at their country and were fearful. Worried about the economy that could limit their financial stability. Worried about the immigrants who allegedly only bring violent crimes that endanger their loved ones.

Biden spent the final stretch of his administration appearing increasingly unfit for his position with every public appearance and Americans confidence in him reached an all time low. Biden appeared frail and weak spirited. Trump, by comparison, was strong, loud and delusionally confident, all key aspects of the worst parts of traditional masculinity.  

Even when Kamala Harris earned the official nomination, the onslaught against the administration by the Trump team did not change all that much. Harris was a part of the administration that made things so uncertain and dangerous and therefore was part of the problem and had to be voted out. 

Voter’s fears were preyed upon. America was a lawless land where murderers and rapists flooded in with no oversight. The economy was tanking and a recession was official in everything but name. 

Trump rallied with those ideals of traditional masculinity. He championed the nuclear family, he pushed back against the woke mob and radical left who would muzzle white men in the name of DEI and prevent young men from buying a home and protecting their family with their elitist mindsets and ‘crazy gender ideology.” 

He appeared on podcasts within the ‘manosphere,’ held rallies, survived an assassination attempt and won the election in convincing fashion. 

Fear won out in the end. Young men finally saw the rug being pulled out from under them and trusted the loudest voice who told them that the other side were the ones responsible. 

Gen-Z men are not all hateful bigots. They are not all staunch opponents to feminism or LGBTQ+ rights. 

Mostly, they just trusted the man with the message that they mattered and the promise that the American Dream was not dead and would be given back to them in exchange for their vote. 

This is not an endorsement of Biden’s presidency or Harris’ campaign. Not even really an indictment on Trump’s strategy to win back said presidency, as it clearly worked well. 

If anything it’s an attempt to understand why the men in my generation supported a man so clearly fragile and egotistical. So dishonest and brash. A narcissistic nepo baby who convinced half the nation’s working and middle class citizens that he was their champion. That he could be simultaneously anti-establishment while being the figurehead of said establishment. 

A man like Donald Trump merely had to adopt the rhetoric and presentation of a traditionally masculine leader while embodying none of its positive traits like honor, integrity and kindness and still was able to win voters over. 

Young men are desperate to be of importance and the changing landscape of our society left them without a designated part to play. Trump promised to give it back to them and in turn, they placed him back on his golden throne. 

Time will tell if he can make good on that promise, but if the past three months have been any indicator of what’s to come, there are always more enemies to conjure and more blame to throw around when things aren’t going well. 

I don’t have the answers for all the valid concerns and problems that men of my generation are facing, I just know that if we all work to be less like Trump in both aesthetics and attitude, we will all be much better for it. 

Categories: Opinion