The Manosphere Wasn’t Impressed by Trump’s Parade or His March to War with Iran
As the war drums beat louder, President Trump’s military parade last Saturday failed to impress much of his core audience (nor Trump apparently). With the military already facing a recruiting shortfall, this weekend’s lackluster parade likely didn’t help. Young men are acutely aware that entering a war could affect them directly, and they are wary of warmongering because of it.
Trump campaigned as a peace president who would end wars. An under-recognized element of Trump’s appeal to young men was that he would follow through on that promise while Harris could send them to war. Bloomberg’s excellent analysis of popular men’s podcasts in the 2024 election found that “After voting, war was the most mentioned issue, appearing in 33% of highly-viewed videos. Broadcasters, who tended to be anti-war and isolationist, discussed geopolitics and global conflict [...] In eight out of nine shows, hosts and guests painted Trump as a peacekeeper, pushing the idea that there were no wars when he was serving as US president.”
Trump’s Military Parade Fell Flat with Male Influencers
Even before the parade, young people showed lower support for it than other demographics. And while it may have been expected when legacy late night shows mocked the parade, it may be more of a surprise that media aimed at young men wasn’t enamored either. Tim Dillon, a podcaster who has been supportive of Trump, said, “I don't love this military parade they're gonna have where it's like, are all the veterans getting healthcare? I don't know how much this military parade costs, but are we doing anything with the mental health veterans? Are we giving them any money? It's weird for an anti-war president to have a big military parade. That's an odd thing. For a guy that wants to keep America out, wants to keep America out of wars, it's odd to have a military parade.”
Stephen A. Smith said, “It was a bit over the top showing America's might and America's strength. Well, if we know we have it, why do we need to show off? We're considered the richest, most powerful country in the world, right? Everybody knows our military might. Why do we need to showcase it? And why did it have to coincide on the 79th birthday of the 47th president of the United States? Was it about our nation or was it about him?”
Trump’s Online Base of Male Influencers are Infuriated that He is Not Ruling Out Involvement in Iran
While Trump flip flops on the unfolding crisis in Iran, his male-centered online base is in revolt. Charlie Kirk wrote, “Keep the pressure up. Regime change in Iran would be a catastrophe.”
Dave Smith, who often appears on Joe Rogan and is now apologizing for his support for Trump, said of his Iran policy: “Donald Trump should be impeached and removed for this. All of his supporters should turn on him. It’s an absolute betrayal of everything that he ran and campaigned on and everything that he stood for.”
Regardless of what Trump ultimately decides to do, one thing is for sure, the manosphere is cracking and the young men who voted for Trump in droves are losing faith in his ability to lead.