Graduation Year

2025

Date of Submission

4-2028

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Government

Reader 1

Andrew Sinclair

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Rights Information

© 2025 Natalie I Teare

Abstract

This paper investigates the increase in Donald Trump’s young male voters in the 2024 presidential election through his digital media campaign. Trump was a guest on over 15 podcasts and livestreams, almost exclusively hosted by men. This paper examines three podcasts to discover what techniques Trump used to appeal to male voters: Impaulsive with Logan Paul, This Past Weekend with Theo Von, and The Joe Rogan Experience. The demographic of young men has specific interests, fears, and challenges that affect the strategies politicians use to garner their support. The advents of social media and podcasting have allowed young men to find support online, but they have also created a dangerous far-right pipeline. The “manosphere” is a realm of the internet with rampant misogyny that may be driving the uptick in conservatism. Many of the podcasts Trump attended fall into or nearby the “manosphere,” which provides context for the anti-progressive nature of each podcast. In the interviews, Trump discusses common male interests such as sports, especially professional fighting, and digital media. He also had vulnerable conversations about addiction and his personal life, while showing genuine interest in the hosts’ lives. The hosts provided Trump with a large degree of freedom to direct the podcast and answer questions, which sometimes resulted in the spread of misinformation. Through a variety of tactics, Trump appealed to young men during podcasts that gathered tens of millions of views and provided a blueprint for future candidates to develop a relationship with young voters.

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