WASHINGTON – For years, Pat Verhaeghe didn’t assume extremely of Donald Trump as a frontrunner.
Then Verhaeghe started seeing extra of Trump’s marketing campaign speeches on-line and his appearances at sporting occasions.
There was even the previous president’s pairing with Bryson DeChambeau as a part of the professional golfer’s YouTube channel sequence to shoot an under-50 spherical of golf whereas participating in chitchat together with his associate.
“I remorse saying this, however some time in the past I assumed he was an fool and that he wouldn’t be a very good president,” mentioned the 18-year-old first-time voter. “I feel he’s an important man now.”
Verhaeghe is not alone amongst his pals in suburban Detroit or younger males throughout America. Though a lot of the citizens shifted proper to various levels in 2024, younger males have been one of many teams that swung sharply toward Trump.
Greater than half of males underneath 30 supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of greater than 120,000 voters, whereas Democrat Joe Biden had gained an analogous share of this group 4 years earlier. White males underneath 30 have been solidly in Trump’s camp this yr — about 6 in 10 voted for Trump — whereas younger Latino males have been cut up between the 2 candidates. Most Black males underneath 30 supported Democrat Kamala Harris, however about one-third have been behind Trump.
Younger Latino males’s views of the Democratic Social gathering have been way more destructive than in 2020, whereas younger Black males’s views of the occasion didn’t actually transfer. About 6 in 10 Latino males underneath 30 had a considerably or very favorable view of the Democrats in 2020, which fell to about 4 in 10 this yr. Alternatively, about two-thirds of younger Black males had a positive view of the Democrats this yr, which was nearly similar to how they noticed the occasion 4 years in the past.
“Younger Hispanic males, and actually younger males generally, they wish to really feel valued,” mentioned Rafael Struve, deputy communications director for Bienvenido, a conservative group that centered on reaching younger Hispanic voters for Republicans this yr. “They’re in search of somebody who fights for them, who sees their potential and never simply their struggles.”
Struve cited the attempted assassination of Trump throughout a July rally in Pennsylvania as one of many catalyzing moments for Trump’s picture amongst many younger males. Trump, Struve mentioned, was additionally capable of attain younger males extra successfully by focusing on nontraditional platforms like podcasts and digital media shops.
“Getting to listen to from Trump straight, I feel, actually made all of the distinction,” Struve mentioned of the previous president’s appearances on digital media platforms and media catering to Latino communities, like city halls and enterprise roundtables Trump attended in Las Vegas and Miami.
Not solely did Trump spend three hours on Joe Rogan’s chart-topping podcast, however he took up DeChambeau’s “Break 50” problem for the golfer’s greater than 1.6 million YouTube subscribers.
Trump already had an edge amongst younger white males 4 years in the past, though he widened the hole this yr. About half of white males underneath 30 supported Trump in 2020, and barely lower than half supported Biden. Trump’s gains among young Latino and Black men have been greater. His help amongst each teams elevated by about 20 proportion factors, in line with AP VoteCast — and their emotions towards Trump received hotter, too.
It wasn’t simply Trump. The share of younger males who recognized as Republicans in 2024 rose as effectively, largely aligning with help for Trump throughout all three teams.
“What’s most alarming to me is that the election is evident that America has shifted proper by quite a bit,” mentioned William He, founding father of Dream For America, a liberal group that works to prove younger voters and supported Harris’ presidential bid.
Along with his bombastic demeanor and a coverage agenda centered on a extra macho understanding of culture, Trump framed a lot of his marketing campaign as a pitch to males who felt scorned by the nation’s financial system, tradition and political system. Younger girls additionally barely swung towards the previous president, although to not the diploma of their male counterparts.
It is unclear what number of males merely didn’t vote this yr. However there is no doubt the final 4 years introduced adjustments in youth tradition and the way political campaigns got down to attain youthful voters.
Democrat Kamala Harris’ marketing campaign rolled out coverage agendas tailor-made to Black and Latino males, and the marketing campaign enlisted a spread of leaders in Black and Hispanic communities to make the case for the vice chairman. Her marketing campaign started with a flurry of enthusiasm from many younger voters, epitomized in memes and the marketing campaign’s embrace of popular culture developments just like the pop star Charli XCX’s “brat” aesthetic. Democrats hoped to channel that vitality into their youth voter mobilization efforts.
“I feel most younger voters simply didn’t hear the message,” mentioned Santiago Mayer, govt director of Voters of Tomorrow, a liberal group that engages youthful voters. Mayer mentioned the Harris marketing campaign’s pitch to the nation was “largely convoluted” and centered on financial messaging that he mentioned wasn’t simply conveyed to youthful voters who weren’t already coming to political media.
“And I feel that the insurance policies themselves have been additionally very slim and focused when what we actually wanted was a easy, daring financial imaginative and prescient,” mentioned Mayer.
Trump additionally embraced popular culture by showing at UFC fights, soccer video games and showing alongside comedians, music stars and social media influencers. His strategists believed that the previous president’s potential to seize consideration and make his remarks go viral did extra for the marketing campaign than paid ads or conventional media appearances.
Trump’s marketing campaign additionally closely cultivated networks of on-line conservative platforms and personalities supportive of him whereas additionally participating a broader universe of podcasts, streaming websites, digital media channels and meme pages open to listening to him.
“The suitable has been wildly profitable in infiltrating youth political tradition on-line and on campus within the final couple of years, thus radicalizing younger folks in the direction of extremism,” mentioned He, who cited conservative activist teams like Turning Level USA as having an outsize affect in on-line discourse. “And Democrats have been working campaigns in a really quaint means. The battleground as of late is cultural and more and more on the web.”
Republicans could lose their broad help if they do not ship on enhancing Individuals’ lives, Struve cautioned. Younger males, particularly, could drift from the occasion in a post-Trump period if the occasion loses the president-elect’s authenticity and bravado.
Bienvenido, for one group, will double down within the coming years to solidify and speed up the voting sample shifts seen this yr, Struve mentioned.
“We don’t need this to be a one and completed factor,” he mentioned.
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Related Press author Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, and AP polling editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this report.
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