Trump talks about mixed martial arts and golf on podcast to encourage young male voters

Donald Trump has appeared on numerous shows that are watched by large numbers of young people and given interviews with influencers, comedians and podcasters outside of the usual political media. what is his strategy?

About 15 minutes into the conversation between Donald Trump and comedian Theo Fung, the conversation veered into territory not normally heard in political speeches.

“I had a great brother who taught me the lesson of not drinking. Don’t drink, don’t smoke,” the former president said. “I had a lot of respect for him…and he had a problem with alcohol.”

“I’ve spent most of the past 10 years recovering,” Fong replied. “Drugs and alcohol.”

Trump seemed genuinely interested.

“Which one is worse?” he asked. The two continued to talk at length about addiction and the drug industry.

It wasn’t entirely devoid of politics — within minutes, Trump again hinted at dissatisfaction with the “deep state” and the voting system — but the friendly conversation served as an example of a larger campaign strategy.

Trump has given a series of interviews with podcasters and alternative media outlets in a concerted effort to appeal to young people.

The tactic is not new, but Trump has been appearing on male-dominated alternative media outlets with large audiences for several months since last year, and has taken on added significance in the final stages of this election. .

In August, the Trump campaign told reporters it was targeting a key group of voters in battleground states, representing just over a tenth of voters. Most of them are young men and mostly white, although this group includes more Latinos and Asian Americans than the general population.

And they include Von, internet pranksters Nerk Boyz, YouTuber Logan Paul, and live-streaming gamer Adin Ross, who has been banned from the site multiple times for violating rules against offensive language. By having President Trump appear on shows hosted by people like him, he believes he can appeal to these fickle voters.

The Nerk Boys are reportedly spearheading voter registration efforts on Trump’s behalf, hoping to reach a like-minded audience.

These podcasts may not be household names in the mainstream media world, but they have millions of viewers. Fung’s interview with Trump has been viewed about 14 million times on YouTube.

Opinion polls show that the political gender gap among young people has widened since Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee in July. Overall, the vice president appears to be drawing more young people into his camp, but support among young women is rising faster than support among young men.

A recent survey by the Harvard Youth Poll shows that 70% of women under 30 support Harris, while 23% plan to vote for Trump. Among men of the same generation, 53% support Ms. Harris, while 36% support Mr. Trump.

Danielle Cox, director of the Center for Research on American Life, part of the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, said the political gender gap reflects a larger social divide, with many young people feeling uneasy about themselves. He says it makes him feel like there are very few politicians paying attention to him.

“Trump is very good at turning things into zero-sum games,” Cox said. “Young people are struggling to understand their place in a rapidly evolving society, struggling academically, experiencing mental health issues and rising suicide rates.

“These are very real concerns, and there’s a sense that no one in the political world is defending them,” he said.

But Cox said Trump’s podcast tour is less about policy and more about “showing up” and speaking to different crowds in different styles.

Efforts to change the mood were evident in a recent podcast interview in which the mostly relaxed former president led a conversation about golf, mixed martial arts, and MAGA-world politics — President Trump’s “Make.” “America Great Again” slogans often refer to an America First approach – an approach that is assumed to be good common sense rather than controversial topics being discussed in isolation.

Before talking about addiction on Vonn’s show, President Trump praised the Ultimate Fighting Championship contestants, including Dustin Poirier, demonstrating more than just knowledge about the sport.

“I’ll tell you, he’s a warrior,” Trump said, adding, “The guy he was fighting was tough… As the fight went on, he got stronger and stronger.”

When President Trump made a number of baseless and false statements about voting, immigration, and the border, including claiming that “hundreds of thousands of murderers” had entered the country, Fung didn’t push back — and he did. I enthusiastically agreed.

There’s a lot of shenanigans going on on the podcast circuit, but sometimes the hosts seem awed, respectful, or even nervous. Before the chat, the Nerk Boys videotaped themselves chugging cans of their branded soda to calm themselves down before President Trump entered the room.

But viewers aren’t looking for tough questions or detailed policy opinions.

“A lot of young people don’t want hard news,” Cox said. “Their first interest may be cryptocurrencies or video games, but politics comes later – through the back door, not the front door.”

There are other signs that President Trump is increasingly pivoting toward male voters. Instead of being introduced as they were under President Trump, for example, musicians Kid Rock, wrestler Hulk Hogan and UFC CEO Dana White filled the stage at the Republican National Convention. Previous custom – by his daughter Ivanka.

Judging by the comments on the podcast interview, many viewers and listeners already support the former president, but getting them to the polls may be a real challenge.

Voter turnout among young people lags behind overall, with young men tending to turn out slightly lower than young women.

The Harris campaign is also producing its own podcast play aimed at young women. The vice president recently appeared on the popular sex and relationships show “Call Her Daddy,” where he was also subjected to less aggressive questions.

Garrett, a Logan Paul fan in his early 20s living in Houston, runs his own YouTube channel under the name Spy Jay.

He said he was attracted to Paul’s brand of “maverickness,” and had an overall positive view of Trump before watching the interview, calling him “a man who has never led the country before.” “patriotic nationalists who want to return to a better state.”

“But while there is a persistent intent in the media to rewrite who he is and what he represents, the persecution he faces suggests that a greater evil is at work. “It’s implied,” he said. “That made me feel more open to voting for him.”

Garrett told the BBC that he watched Trump on Paul’s podcast (the internet star asked him if he had ever gotten into a fight) and that Trump’s interview with Adin Roth gave him an idea of ​​what he thought. He said he was just confirming it.

Garrett said young Americans are becoming increasingly interested in politics, and Trump is tapping into the alt-media realm “like no other candidate has done before.”

“So whether the strategy is good or bad, it’s going to impact a significant number of young people,” he said.

Online reaction to the video was largely positive. “At the end of the day, no one can convince me that Trump is more than just a brother,” wrote one. “Love him or hate him, he definitely knows how to make an interview interesting.” There was also a note.

However, some experts doubt that there is much room for Trump to expand his voting base in the male-dominated subculture that has long supported him.

“Trump already seems to have captured the male demographic, the over-masculine demographic, over the age of 25, so this is a late-stage, pretty desperate attempt to be relevant,” said Rutgers University media professor. Jack Bratic says: “Manosphere”.

Vratich said young, internet-obsessed people were very active during the 2016 election campaign, when political memes and radical message boards such as 4chan rapidly rose.

Eight years later, things have changed a lot, he said, and this year’s contest doesn’t involve a “particular right-wing, youth-based online political movement” that is heavily involved.

But he said there is little risk and the potential for big rewards for Mr. Trump.

Its success will depend on convincing young men who are less inclined to engage in politics to log out and head to the polls.

Like so much else in this election, the play for young voters is full of unknowns.