LEMON DROP | The Democratic Party's Dude Problem
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Why does Don Lemon say the Democratic Party has a 'straight dude problem'?
The Democrats have a dude problem. Specifically, they have a straight dude problem. Democrats are hemorrhaging heterosexual men left and right, and they have no idea how to stop this bleeding. Now, let me, I just want to back up here. Why am I talking about this? I'm talking about it, well, number one, it's because obviously they have a problem. But also recently, the New York Times published an article outlining the party's desperate attempts to appeal to this huge swath of the American electorate. And their proposals were, well... They were bad. Worse than bad. They were really cringe. It is clear to me that Democrats increasingly view straight men as an exotic animal, as an alien species. Now, according to the New York Times, the party's outreach strategy is threefold here.
They want to put political ads in video games on sports gambling apps and on pornography websites as if those are the only three things that straight men are into. It's embarrassing. And even more importantly, it's a threat to democracy. So buckle up because we're going to unpack what is going on, why it's happening, and what Democrats need to do to stop repulsing effectively half of the population. So let's start with the cold, hard numbers because the data doesn't lie. In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump won 55% of the mail vote, up 53% from 2020. That's not just a blip, it's a trend. Among young men under 30, the shift was even starker. Over half backed Trump, flipping a demographic that leaned Democratic just four years ago when Joe Biden carried them.
And here is the kicker. About three in 10 black men under 45 voted for Trump in 2024, roughly double the number of 2020. Latino men split down the middle between Trump and Kamala Harris, a huge slide from 2020 when they leaned heavily Democratic. These numbers come straight from the Associated Press and Pew Research, and they tell the story of a party in deep trouble, deep shit. Now, you might be thinking, Don, why are men, especially young men, drifting away from Democrats? Well, let's talk about it. For years, Democrats have relied on women, young voters, and communities of color to carry them to victory. But in 2024, something shifted. Young men, particularly non-college-educated white men, black men, and Latino men,
moved right. Why? Because they felt ignored, dismissed, even scorned by a party that has been more focused on preaching than listening. And when you feel like nobody's speaking to you, you either check out completely or you just listen to someone else who does claim to care about you. Enter Donald Trump, who has been all over UFC fights, Joe Rogan podcasts, and so-called manosphere talking directly to men. So what did Democrats do to try to catch up? They got creative, or they thought they got creative. In the closing weeks of the 2024 campaign, they rolled out some, let's call them unconventional strategies. We're talking about political ads on video game platforms, Reddit pages, Twitch streams, and yes, you heard me right, pornography websites.
Two men, Wally Nowinski and Matt Curry, started a pack called Freedom to Watch, dropping $100,000 on ads on adult sites to convince Trump-leaning voters to stay home. Their target, non-college-educated white men in swing states, who they figured were breaking for Trump's 65 to 70 percent. The ads racked up 5 million views in October alone, with plans of 20 million by Election Day. Then there was the Progressive Action Fund running ads like Republicans are rubbing you the wrong way. Showing a guy watching porn interrupted by a fake GOP congressman banning it. They claimed it moved young men voters 3.5 points away from Trump. Now let's pause just for a second. I'm all for meeting voters where they are, but really?
Ads on porn sites? Streaming World of Warcraft next to Tim Walz's rally? Kamala Harris talking about crypto and weed to black men as if that's all they care about? Come on, Democrats. It's not a strategy. It's pandering. And it's borderline insulting. The Washington Examiner nailed it in October when they said Democratic Party's ideal young men seem to be, quote, a loser smoking marijuana, playing video games, watching porn and gambling on crypto.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
Why does Don Lemon say the Democratic Party has a 'straight dude problem'?
0:00–5:22
2
What data shows men, especially young men, shifting toward Trump in 2024?
5:22–10:43
3
How did Democrats try to reach straight men with unconventional ad strategies?
10:43–14:00
4
Why are stereotyped outreach tactics on porn sites and gaming platforms failing?
14:00–15:11
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Don Lemon Show
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