After a campaign dominated by male appeals, young men turned right in favor of Trump

WASHINGTON – Pat Verhaeghe has had a low opinion of Donald Trump as a leader for years.

Verhaeghe then began seeing more of Trump’s campaign speeches and appearances at sporting events online.

The former president even collaborated with Bryson DeChambeau on a series on the professional golfer’s YouTube channel, during which he played a round of under-50 golf while chatting with his partner.

“I regret saying this, but a while ago I thought he was an idiot and that he wouldn’t be a good president,” said the 18-year-old first-time voter. “I think he’s a great guy now.”

Verhaeghe is not alone among his suburban Detroit friends and young men across America. While much of the electorate has moved to the right to varying degrees in 2024, young men were one of the groups that turned sharply toward Trump.

More than half of men under 30 supported Trump, according to AP VoteCastpoll of more than 120,000 voters, while Democrat Joe Biden won a similar share of that group four years earlier. This year, white men under 30 were firmly in Trump’s camp – about 6 in 10 voted for Trump – while young Latinos were split between both candidates. A majority of black men under 30 support Democrat Kamala Harris, but about a third support Trump.

Young Latino men’s views of the Democratic Party were significantly more negative than in 2020, while young Black men’s views of the party remained unchanged. About 6 in 10 Latinos under 30 had a somewhat or very favorable opinion of Democrats in 2020, down from about 4 in 10 this year. On the other hand, about two-thirds of young Black men had a a favorable opinion of Democrats that was almost identical to how they viewed the party four years ago.

“Young Latinos and young men in general want to feel valued,” said Rafael Struve, deputy communications director at Bienvenido, a conservative group that has focused this year on reaching young Latino Republican voters. “They are looking for someone who fights for them, who sees their potential, not just their struggles.

Struve cited attempted murder of Trump during a July rally in Pennsylvania as one of the moments that catalyzed Trump’s image among many young men. Struve said Trump has also been able to reach young men more effectively focusing on non-traditional platforms such as podcasts and digital media.

“I think talking to Trump directly has really made a difference,” Struve said of the former president’s appearances on digital media platforms and in media aimed at Latino communities, such as town halls and business roundtables that Trump attended in Las Vegas and Miami.

Not only did Trump spend three hours on Joe Rogan’s chart-topping podcast, but he took on DeChambeau’s “Break 50” challenge to the golfer’s more than 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube.

Trump already had an advantage among young white men four years ago, although he increased it this year. About half of white men under 30 supported Trump in 2020, and just under half supported Biden. Trump gains among young Latino and Black men they were bigger. According to AP VoteCast, his support among both groups increased by about 20 percentage points, and their feelings towards Trump also became warmer.

It wasn’t just about Trump. The share of young men who identified as Republicans in 2024 also increased, largely in line with support for Trump in all three groups.

“What’s most disturbing to me is that this election clearly shows that America has changed significantly,” said William He, founder of Dream For America, a liberal group that works to attract young voters and supports Harris’ presidential bid.

With his bombastic attitude and political agenda focused on something more macho understanding of cultureTrump framed much of his campaign as a rallying cry for people who felt slighted by the country’s economy, culture and political system. Young women have also turned somewhat towards the former president, although not to the same extent as their male counterparts.

It’s unclear how many men simply didn’t vote this year. But there is no doubt that the last four years have seen changes in youth culture and the way political campaigns have sought to reach younger voters.

Democrat Kamala Harris’ campaign has unveiled policy agendas tailored to the needs of Black and Latino people, and the campaign has tapped a number of leaders from the Black and Latino communities to make the case for the vice president. Her campaign began with a wave of enthusiasm from many young voters, epitomized by memes and the use of pop culture trends such as the pop star in the campaign Charli XCX’s “batch” aesthetic. Democrats hoped to channel that energy into efforts to mobilize young voters.

“I think most young voters just didn’t hear the message,” said Santiago Mayer, executive director of Voters of Tomorrow, a liberal group for younger voters. Mayer said Harris’ campaign message to the country was “largely convoluted” and focused on an economic message that he felt was not easy to convey to younger voters who were not yet exposed to political media.

“And I think the policy itself was also very narrow and focused, when what we really needed was a simple, bold economic vision,” Mayer said.

Trump has also immersed himself in pop culture, appearing at UFC fights, football games and appearing alongside comedians, music stars and social media influencers. His strategists believed that the former president’s ability to attract attention and have his remarks spread online did more for the campaign than paid ads or traditional media appearances.

Trump’s campaign has also been aggressively expanding networks of conservative online platforms and personalities supporting him, while also engaging a broader world of podcasts, streaming sites, digital media channels and meme sites open to listening to him.

“Over the past few years, the right-wing has been extremely successful in infiltrating youth political culture online and on campus, thereby radicalizing young people towards extremism,” said He, who cited conservative activist groups such as Turning Point USA as having a huge impact impact on the internet discuss. “And Democrats campaign in a very old-fashioned way. Today, the battlefield is cultural and increasingly takes place online.”

Republicans could lose broad support if they fail to improve the lives of Americans, Struve warned. Young men in particular may drift away from the party in the post-Trump era if the party loses the president-elect’s authenticity and bravado.

For one group, Bienvenido will double in size in the coming years to consolidate and accelerate the voting changes seen this year, Struve said.

“We don’t want this to be a one-time thing,” he said.

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Associated Press Writer Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, and AP Poll Editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this report.