Donald Trump’s appeal to young men appears to be working – but is misogyny at play?

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There is a growing belief that the gender divide in this election will be huge and Kamala Harris knows it.

At the weekend, the vice president was heard discussing the issue with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, as they chatted at a bar in Kalamazoo. “We need to move ground among men,” Harris was heard saying.

Polls suggest that women will largely support the Democratic presidential candidate, while men will flock to Donald Trump, and that that gap will be at its most vast among the young: an October New New York Times/Siena College poll found that 69 per cent of women aged 18-29 were supporting Harris, while 45 per cent of men the same age were going for the Republican.

Where better to test out this theory then in Ann Arbor, a college town where tens of thousands descended on Saturday from across Michigan for one of the biggest games of the college football season. Michigan versus Michigan State, the Wolverines against the Spartans, battling out for the Paul Bunyan Trophy in a rivalry that began more than a century ago.

Ahead of the evening’s big game, I watch the Michigan Mudbowl on the corner of South U and Washtenaw, a charity football match that, as the name suggests, happens on a large patch of mud. I ask one student spectator, Katie, about the upcoming election.

“I feel like there’s definitely more young men who are supporting Trump, young women supporting Harris. A lot of young men are very anti-Harris.”

“What do you think that’s about?”

“I don’t know. Just like society, we’ve never had a female president, and I think that people are very worried about that and… misogyny.”

Another student, Benita, is more blunt. “I feel like a lot of men don’t like to see a woman in power.” She says she’s voting for Kamala Harris because the election is “about our reproductive freedom and that’s very important to me”.

So what’s the draw of Donald Trump for men on the other side? I chat to Sam and Matt on the edge of the Mudbowl.

“Honestly, it’s not the best two candidates,” Sam says. He is probably going to vote for Harris but said the majority of his friends were going for Trump. “We’re young. We just want to hang out with our friends, drink some beers, have a good time and, you know, not worry about being politically correct. So I feel people get drawn to Trump.”

Matt is still on the fence. “It’s a coin toss? I’m not really sold on either one of them. So I guess when I see the ballot, I’ll have to decide there.”
After the Mudbowl comes to an obviously muddy end, the participants depart to clean themselves up, while the students head off to prepare for the tailgate parties that begin a few hours ahead of kick-off.

Amidst the fraternities in Ann Arbor, I chat to a smattering of students as they play ball, music and beer pong. To reach these young male voters, a cohort that usually do not get out and vote in large numbers, Trump has been shirking traditional media to reach them on podcasts such as Joe Rogan.

“I see a lot of it. I love his passion,” Luke tells me about Trump’s media appearances. His friend, Francesco, adds, “It reaches us. It’s good marketing.”

“When he does those interviews,” I ask, “what does he say that appeals to you?”

“He’s a patriot. He loves this country,” Francesco responds. “I mean, he’s had three assassination attempts against him. I think that goes to show what kind of person he is. He’s ride or die for America, right?”

Francesco also mentions woke culture, continuing on from what Sam had said earlier. He calls it “the worst thing that ever happened to anybody ever. It’s horrible. You can’t even step outside without being worried about what you’re saying, what you’re doing. I mean, it’s insane. Like walking to the bathroom you see a dude and a girl, like you should just keep it men’s bathroom, women’s bathroom.” It’s notable that in recent weeks, the Trump campaign has leaned heavily into anti-transgender advertising across the United States.

A block away, I talk to another group of frat boys, all Trump supporters. I ask them whether America is ready for a female president. There’s a brief pause.

“I’d rather have a man in charge. I think he’s more dominant. Other leaders fear him. He gets the word across. Kamala, she doesn’t do anything.

Another chimes in. “I mean, you look at Ukraine. There were never any issues with Putin. There were never conflicts when Trump was in office. Ever since he left, there’s been war.”

Polling suggests that Black men may also be flirting with voting for Trump, with former president Barack Obama appealing to that base, even himself suggesting that misogyny may be at play. Speaking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Obama said: “part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

At a tailgate just outside Michigan Stadium – the largest in the whole United States – I talk to two Black men about how they’re feeling ahead of November 5.

David, smoking a cigar on the back of a pick-up truck, says he will vote for Harris but he wants change because “we keep getting the same old stuff over and over again.” He admits that Trump’s messaging is cutting through to a few of his friends.

“People feel like they’re tired of being lied to. There’s no real plan for Black America inside of politics. Have we come far? Yes. Have we made strides throughout history? Yes. But people want to get something for their vote. And for a long time, Black people have felt like they’re not getting enough for their votes.”

“The Democrats are taking them for granted?” I ask.

“I believe so, yes.”

A few feet away from David’s truck, I chat to James, also enjoying a cigar as his friends offer me some food from their barbecue. Another Democratic supporter, James admits that the enthusiasm of the Obama years has disappeared. I ask him whether Black men will come out in the same numbers as 2008.

“I don’t think we’re there. I think Black men have been overlooked or looked down upon in this country for some time. But, you know, we’re strong and I think we’re going to do the right thing.”

I ask him about Obama’s comments about possible misogyny in the community.

“There’s not a man out there that would be here without a woman. So if that’s the way they’re looking at it, they’re wrong. Black men have been raised by strong Black women our entire lives. You know, I think they’re going to do what’s best for their mothers and their sisters. And I think they really need to.”

That is the same argument that later that evening, as the game begins, Michelle Obama puts to an audience in Kalamazoo, Michigan, west of here in Ann Arbor. “To anyone out there thinking about sitting out this election or voting for Donald Trump or a third party candidate in protest because you’re fed up, let me warn you,” she says. “Your rage does not exist in a vacuum. If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage.”

At the big match, the Wolverines triumph over the Spartans 24-17. A clear winner.

Will that be the same at next week’s election? Maybe not – but the gender divide will be plain to see.