A controversial $20 million study examining why young American men are leaving the Democratic Party paints a sobering picture—and confirms growing concerns about liberals’ hold on a critical voting bloc, according to its initial findings.
“Democrats are seen as weak, whereas Republicans are seen as strong,” Ilyse Hogue, co-founder of the Speaking with American Men (SAM) project, told Politico. “Young men also spoke of being invisible to the Democratic coalition, and so you’ve got this weak problem and then you’ve got this, ‘I don’t think they care about me’ problem, and I think the combination is kind of a killer.”
America’s young men are stressed, ashamed and confused over what it means to be a man in 2025, Politico reported.
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“They vented about conflicting cultural messages of masculinity that put them in a ‘no-win situation around the meaning of ‘a man,’ ‘ according to the SAM project memo.”
Economic concerns are a big driver behind young men feeling stressed. Being unable to buy a home in today’s market with high prices and high interest rates, or worried about paying for their children’s college, has led to their concerns about “being a man, and living up to their own expectations or the expectations of their family or society,” SAM project co-founder and pollster John Della Volpe told Politico.
Focus group participants’ responses helped paint the picture.
“An Asian American professional described Democrats as embracing ‘the fluid masculinity of being, like, empathetic and sensitive,’ while ‘Republicans are more like, the traditional masculinity of a provider, strong, and the machismo type.’”
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A Latino man told the project that Kamala Harris was focused on, “Oh, I got Beyonce on stage with me. Oh, I got Lady Gaga on stage,” and “it just kind of felt like, what does that have to do with me? I’m trying to move up in life.”
“Trump’s over here like, ‘if we’re able to get a surplus in our budget, then we’re going to have no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. It’s going to take a while to get to that point, but at least he’s saying the things that — oh, this is what I’m going to do.”
Although the report did not mention it, Harris unveiled a comprehensive economic package that included financial assistance for first time homebuyers and parents who wanted children. It’s unclear if those messages got through.
Another “Latino man from Las Vegas spoke admiringly of Trump and Andrew Tate, a controversial influencer who has been accused of rape and sex trafficking, as ‘always loved and hated, but they’re truthful, honest, to what they believe in.’”
But Hogue also said Democrats are just not speaking the same language as America’s young men, and until that changes they “can’t win these folks over.”
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Image via Reuters