Trump reminded men of their masculinity. Democrats must create space for it | Opinion
Women need men less than ever before, but the hardest lesson Democrats must learn from the 2024 presidential election is that cisgender men are important.
Democrats forgot that in the 2024 cycle, as gay men and women dominated the imagery of the party at the Democratic National Convention. The two biggest women in show business, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, endorsed Democratic Candidate Kamala Harris. Former First Lady Michelle Obama was the star of the convention. Pop Singer Charli XCX, who has a predominantly women and queer fan base, endorsed Harris with a simple post on X: “Kamala is Brat.”
Women and queer people were uplifted, and it was beautiful; the barriers that exist between men and women in our body politic and our society had real political consequences, including Harris’ defeat at the hands of Donald Trump.
The 2026 elections hold similar dangers unless Democrats solve their cisgender man problem.
A recent Pew Research Center survey showed young men today are less aligned with the Democratic Party than any previous generation.
Further, it revealed a not-so-surprising fact that men are now more likely to align with the Republican Party.
I don’t believe that this is simply a tactical error by the Democratic Party. It’s much worse. Democrats have abandoned men to seem hip.
The Democrats’ kids’ table ignored the loneliness men experience. They allowed Trump a clear field to appeal to men and freely influence them.
They can keep marginalizing men all they want, but the Democratic Party needs them if they want to turn the tide.
Another significant point from the survey is that within the 18-29 male age group polled lies the biggest percentage of people with no political leaning. That’s a big indicator that there’s still time for Democrats to attract young men who are still reachable.
But liberals will have to learn.
Dems have to reach all men
Just this past year alone, I’ve seen TikToks, movies and TV shows that all make the same joke about men, how they aren’t worth anything or that they’re only good for money. These hurtful comments are not just words; they shape how men see themselves.
But throughout Harris’ campaign, men were not a focal point. Politics is pretty simple: when you make the effort to appeal to people of a certain group, they are more likely to listen. If you ignore them or forsake them, you lose them.
Ultimately, men have to feel like they are important. The rage that some feminists have towards all men can block them from finding a way to develop more allies who support women’s rights.
Men didn’t choose Trump because he was a great leader. They chose him because he made the effort to appeal to them and because the leaders that some men look up to, like podcasters Joe Rogan, Logan Paul and Theo Von, also like Trump.
There is currently no positive framework to be a man in the Democratic Party and that makes it difficult for men to feel like they belong there.
This is an unpopular opinion, but there are good men out there.
Democrats just have to create space for them at the cool kids table.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Trump reminded men of their masculinity. Democrats must create space for it | Opinion."
