'Disaffected young men': Trump ramps up aggressive outreach

Adin Ross, a 23-year-old gamer, has become a prominent figure in the manosphere movement — a variety of anti-feminist ideologies that have clashed on many occasions.

Ross is far-right in his views, making no secret of his admiration for Andrew Tate and former President Donald Trump. And he interviewed the 2024 GOP presidential nominee during a livestream on the Kick platform on Monday, August 5.

There is a lot of infighting within the manosphere, which ranges from competing red pill groups — PUAs (pickup artists) and MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) — to black pill/incel extremists. Incels are so extreme that even other misogynists find them disturbing. And Ross, with his admiration for Tate, is not an incel but rather, favors the PUA/red pill area of the manosphere.

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In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark Tuesday, journalist Ilyse Hogue notes that Ross' online event with Trump attracted roughly 600,000 viewers. And the lesson for Democrats, Hogue stresses, is that Trump is really ramping up his outreach to "disaffected young men."

"Ross, who boasts 1.3 million followers, is part of a cohort of young hyper-online men who promote an unapologetically MAGA aesthetic and culture," Hogue explains. "He is a sycophant of the legendary king of the manosphere, Andrew Tate, known equally for his overt misogyny and the charges he faces for rape and human trafficking. Ross himself was banned from the more mainstream gaming platform Twitch for multiple hate speech and racial slur offenses."

Hogue continues, "That was never going to be a hurdle for Donald Trump. But the fact that the former president came on Ross' show still underscores how the GOP is operating in an unconventional but potentially advantageous manner — one that stands in stark contrast to the Democrats, who continue to plod along using a playbook that counts 'youth' as an unshakable monolith."

Hogue describes Trump's appearance on Ross' show as "part of a concerted effort by Republicans to turn up the noise and turn out the vote for Trump among disaffected young men.

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"In a post-MeToo era of progressive politics where young men often felt excluded, silenced, and shunned," Hogue explains, "this emerging culture hits all the marks of making men great again…. This coordinated effort is geared to do one thing: rewire social permissions so young men can feel good about voting for a convicted felon and a man found liable for sexual abuse. And so far, it seems to be working."

Hogue adds, "Trump is winning this demographic, according to most polls. This rightward drift of young men is part of a global trend that has powered elections in recent years from Argentina to France."

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Ilyse Hogue's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.