Crude talk and the NFL: Trump doubles down on his lead with male voters Donald Trump, who is leading in the polls with male voters, over the weekend referenced a golfing legend’s manhood, interspersed his speeches with curse words and attended an NFL game to ensure he holds onto that key constituency.
It’s a strategy that involves doubling: down on exciting the Republican presidential nominee’s most ardent supporters and emphasizing turnout among low propensity male voters with a hyper-masculine style, one his critics call a corrosive version of masculinity. Meanwhile, he is barely nodding at – and may be alienating – the suburban women swing voters once considered key campaign targets.
Still, Trump’s approach has him competitive in the polls − neck-and-neck with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris – and it’s one he’s long employed, even if it’s unusual for most politicians. “I’ve never seen anyone focus more strenuously on current supporters rather than trying to expand the pool of potential voters,” said Frank Luntz, a GOP pollster and frequent Fox News contributor with more than three decades of political experience.
- Harris and her allies have challenged Trump’s approach. Addressing men who think Trump’s behavior is a sign of strength, former President Barack Obama said earlier this month that’s “not what real strength is.”
- Harris running mate Tim Walz, a hunter and former football coach, has been deployed to court male voters but pitches himself more as a Midwestern dad than a macho man.
- How Trump has courted men – and Harris has courted women
- Trump won male voters by eight percentage points in 2020, according to exit polls, and he’s doing even better with them now.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University survey released Monday has Trump up by 16 percentage points with men nationally, while Harris is up by 17 points with women. Of course, both Trump and Harris will receive support from a range of voters. But this remarkable gap in candidate preference between men and women has been one of the defining features of the 2024 election cycle.
Both candidates have spent months: laying out their priorities for the nation’s economy, immigration system and other issues facing the country. But they’re also playing to their bases.Harris has emphasized reproductive rights as she seeks to drive turnout among women. She has frequently talked about caregiving and a slate of other health care issues that disproportionately impact female voters.
- Trump’s appeals to men have been more overt and crude. His comments Saturday about Arnold Palmer at a rally in the golfer’s hometown of Latrobe,
- Pennsylvania, drew particular attention. Trump said Palmer, who died in 2016, was “all man.”
- “When he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said ‘Oh, my God. That’s unbelievable,’” Trump added.
Trump went on to unleash a string of profanities during the event, calling Harris a “sh*t vice president.”
GOP consultant Mike DuHaime noted that Republicans have traditionally done better with men because of the party’s approach to policy issues such as economics, national defense and crime. The USA TODAY/Suffolk poll found that a majority of voters believe
Trump would do a better job handling the economy, immigration and foreign policy, and male voters are even more likely to give Trump high marks in these areas.
