#117 John Branch: Donald Trump and the Battle For Male Voters

In one of the tightest presidential elections in U.S. history, is it possible that thousands of disaffected young men might be the ones casting the deciding votes? Donald Trump certainly thinks it’s a possibility, and the former president has made a concerted effort to court these Gen Z men through interviews with a constellation of podcast and YouTube stars of the Manoverse. But what’s really driving these men to turn out for Trump, and will the strategy work?

On this episode of Paternal, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter John Branch discusses what he learned from speaking with a variety of Gen Z men who have latched onto Trump as their savior. He also breaks down how the Trump campaign has attempted to define their candidate as the ultimate male superhero while attacking Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, bringing different definitions of masculinity to the forefront of the presidential election.

Branch is a longtime reporter for the New York Times, and wrote the article “Donald Trump Courts the Manoverse” earlier this year.

Episode Timestamps: 

00:00 - Intro
07:05 - Trump courts the Manoverse
11:03 - Stars of the Nanoverse
17:03 - From partying to politics
18:06 - The state of Gen Z men
22:20 - A zero-sum game for disaffected men
25:58 - Trump as masculine superhero
30:42 - Masculinity and Tim Walz
34:15 - Concerns for and conclusions about Gen Z
38:10 - Outro