Why Donald Trump is facing doubts in the ‘manosphere'
CNN — Justin Centers fits the profile of many younger men who
Justin Centers fits the profile of many younger men who helped power Donald Trump's political comeback last fall.
He's a 21-year-old autoworker from the Detroit suburbs and was newly eligible to vote in presidential elections — a cross-section of traits Trump aggressively targeted in his bid to reclaim battlegrounds like Michigan. He's also a longtime fan of Theo Von, the shaggy-haired, free-wheeling comedian and podcast host whose viral interview with Trump last August signaled an emerging political shift among millennial and Gen Z men.
Centers ultimately voted for Trump, and Von had a VIP seat at the inauguration. But in recent months, Von has expressed growing dissatisfaction with Trump's second stint in the White House — sentiments that were echoed by Centers outside Detroit's Fox Theatre as he waited to catch Von's stand-up tour.
'Completely being honest, I'm a little iffy now,' Centers said of the president. 'One of the things I primarily voted for was 'No new wars,' and unfortunately, that has been a big lie to my face. So, it's extremely disappointing to see that.'
After losing men under 50 by double digits in 2020, Trump's campaign made a concerted push to reverse that trend. His outreach included appearances on podcasts and YouTube shows hosted by a growing universe of male comedians, pranksters, streamers and other right-leaning influencers who had cultivated large, loyal followings. The approach paid off and has already spawned copycats in both parties.
Lately some of the most influential voices within the so-called manosphere have begun expressing concerns, if not outright regret, with Trump's return to Washington.
Joe Rogan, who interviewed Trump on his top-rated podcast last October before endorsing him, recently called the new administration's immigration crackdown 'insane.' Von criticized Trump's bombing of Iran as a 'horrible idea,' saying it made the US look like it's 'working for Israel.' Billionaire X owner Elon Musk, once a prominent Trump ally and a key figure in reshaping the online media ecosystem, is now publicly warring with the president over the cost of his legislative agenda and promising to bankroll a third party. And comedian Andrew Schulz, a Trump supporter last year, told listeners of his 'Flagrant' podcast that the president was 'doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for.'
Even unexpected corners of the manosphere have begun to show signs of revolt. Professional poker players, for example, have lashed out at Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' for changes in tax law that will require them to pay the government even when they lose money.
'You just really start to feel very disillusioned pretty quickly,' Von said in a recent podcast.
Theo Von performs during Clusterfest in San Francisco on June 2, 2018.
FilmMagic/Getty Images
Warning signs
At Von's recent Detroit show, Carhartt logos, camo and mullets mixed easily with A-frame hats, golf polos and tins of nicotine pouches. Plumes of vape periodically hovered over the audience. The crowd's overwhelmingly White complexion was a reoccurring source of material for the comedian.
During a rollicking 90-minute set, Von didn't directly broach politics or Trump. But the conflicting feelings he has shared on his podcast were voiced by his fans, too.
Steven Deuby, a 34-year-old mail carrier from Wayne County, scoffed at the price tag of Trump's massive tax cuts and spending package. 'Five trillion dollars? That's insane,' he said.
But Deuby, an Army veteran, said he backed Trump's military moves to date and remained supportive of the president overall.
'There's stuff to criticize about Trump, but for the most part, I think he's doing much more important (stuff) than Joe Biden,' Deuby said.
Walking up to the Fox Theatre in a Von T-shirt, Tyler Goldsmith said he understood the complaints from Von and others, but would give Trump the benefit of the doubt for now.
'When you go into your first year, you're not going to do what everybody wanted you to at the beginning, because there are going to be things that you have to retract on, that you have to take care of,' Goldsmith, a 32-year-old lawn-care business owner from Constantine in southwest Michigan.
Polls midway through Trump's first year back in office suggest growing disapproval with his administration — and there are signs the shift is hitting these younger voters, too. A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds that among men younger than 35, 40% approve of the way Trump is handling his job now and 60% disapprove, significantly worse than Trump's ratings with older men. In February, 44% of men under 35 approved and 54% disapproved.
But whether this disenchantment presents trouble for Republicans or creates an opening for Democrats remains to be seen.
While the concerns that are animating Von and other online influencers may produce compelling podcast content, they are less likely to dictate how young men vote in future elections, said David Winston, a veteran Republican pollster. Economic factors like wages and inflation weighed heavily on the minds of many voters last fall and likely will moving forward, he said.
'When a voter has just gone a different direction, they're the ones that can go back the other way. They just made a decision and now they're going to see if that worked or it didn't work,' Winston said. 'The idea that they could bounce back to Democrats is certainly very possible. Having said that, they left for a reason.'
Centers, for his part, voiced frustrations on several fronts. He's a recent Tesla owner concerned Trump's vendetta against electric vehicles will ultimately hurt his purchase. He's also an expecting father who is worried about having a family in an economic environment he doesn't believe is improving.
Still, Centers said he was unlikely to change to vote Democrat.
'A lot of stuff I identify with falls along the conservative agenda,' he said.
Anger over Epstein
White House advisers have long held concerns that many voters who helped elect Trump in November — including young men — are at risk of skipping a midterm election when he isn't on the ballot. Motivating those voters has been a top priority for Trump's political team as it seeks to maintain control of Congress.
Mark Mitchell, the top pollster for the conservative-leaning Rasmussen Reports, has publicly warned that the Trump's coalition could be fractured by his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, a longtime fixation for Rogan and other right-leaning podcasters favored by men.
The Department of Justice concluded last week the accused sex trafficker killed himself in prison and did not keep a list of elite and high-profile clients, sparking outrage from MAGA conspiracists who had long been told otherwise by many in Trump's orbit.
The CNN poll found 65 percent of men younger than 35 are dissatisfied with the amount of information the federal government has released about the Epstein case, while just 10% are satisfied. That's higher than the share of dissatisfied among the general population.
'What is enraging people right now is it's insulting our intelligence,' Schulz said on his podcast last week.
On Saturday, Trump urged his supporters to move on from their Epstein outrage in a lengthy social media post — a message that landed poorly among some of Von's fans.
'You said you were going to show us (the Epstein files), now you're just being the very thing you said you were going to end,' said Ben, a chemical worker from Battle Creek, Michigan, who asked CNN not to use his last name. 'Not as transparent as what I thought.'
He said Trump's posture on Epstein was the final straw. If he could go back, 'maybe I just wouldn't vote,' he said.
Democrats wade in
Amid the discontent, Democrats have sought to make inroads into the manosphere.
Former Transportation Secretary and potential 2028 contender Pete Buttigieg appeared earlier this year on 'Flagrant.' Multiple outlets reported that Rogan recently interviewed Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a rising Democratic star considering a Senate bid. Von recently spoke at length with Rep. Ro Khanna, the progressive Democrat from California, and revealed he planned to chat with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024, before a scheduling conflict postponed their conversation. (He also released an episode with Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican whom Trump has threatened to help defeat.)
Schulz recently suggested democratic socialists like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders appear to be prioritizing America more than Trump.
'If MAGA wants to take this 'America First' thing back, they got to start looking out for America,' he said.
Giving airtime to politicians across the spectrum isn't just a pivot from the Trump-centric content of the previous election cycle. Many of the most prominent male influencers dub themselves as independent thinkers unbeholden to either party.
Regardless, Nathan Sheldon, a 35-year-old from Northville, Michigan, sporting a 'Don't Tread on Comedy' shirt at Von's show, told CNN he appreciated hearing from Democrats in full, unfiltered interviews.
'Them going on to platforms like Schulz and Rogan, I can finally hear some ideas,' Sheldon said. 'They're starting to stand out.'
CNN's Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al-Ahram Weekly
9 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Could soccer ever become 'football' in the US? - World
It is the world's most popular sport and yet there is still debate over what it should actually be called. Is it football or soccer? U.S. President Donald Trump waded into the topic while at the Club World Cup final in New Jersey last Sunday. He joked that he could pass an executive order to bring the United States in line with much of the rest of the world and ensure that from now on Americans refer to it as football. 'I think I could do that,' he said with a smile during an interview with host broadcaster DAZN. It was a light-hearted comment, but at a time when the U.S. is playing an increasingly significant role in soccer the question of why Americans continue to call it by a different name to the one by which it is most commonly known has been raised again. There is, of course, already a popular sport called football in the U.S. — and that complicates things. 'They call it football, we call it soccer. I'm not sure that change could be made very easily,' Trump said. Soccer keeps growing in the U.S. and so does its influence on the sport. It is co-hosting the men's World Cup with Canada and Mexico next year — the third year in a row that it stages a major tournament after the 2024 Copa America and this summer's Club World Cup. Other factors are keeping soccer more often in the U.S. consciousness — and perhaps they will make saying 'football' more commonplace in a tough sporting landscape. One of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi, plays for MLS team Inter Miami; the popularity of the Premier League and Champions League is booming; and the documentary series 'Welcome to Wrexham' about a low-level Welsh club co-owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, has attracted new eyeballs. Don't blame Americans for calling it soccer Despite 'soccer' being widely associated with the U.S., it is commonly accepted that the word was actually coined in Britain, perhaps as far back as the 1880s. The exact date when it was first used is not known, but it is believed 'soccer' was derived from 'association football,' which was the first official name of the sport. The charity English Heritage says the nickname may have first been used by pupils at the iconic Harrow School to 'distinguish the new association game from their older pursuit, known as 'footer.'' Numerous versions of football began to flourish, often involving handling a ball more than kicking it. One example dating back to the 1600s and still played today in England is Royal Shrovetide. Rugby is another example. The English Football Association was created in 1863 and drew up codified rules for associated football to set it apart from other versions being played elsewhere in Britain and, from there, soccer as we know it was born. Dr. Stefan Szymanski, a professor of sport management at the University of Michigan, co-wrote the book 'It's Football, Not Soccer (And Vice Versa)' and explored the origins of the name. In a lecture to the American University of Beirut in 2019 he said soccer was 'very clearly a word of English/British origin.' 'And bear in mind that the name 'association football' doesn't really appear until the 1870s," he said, 'so it appears really very early on in the history of the game and the word 'soccer' has been used over and over again since it was coined at the end of the 19th century.' Soccer was a commonly used term in Britain 'Soccer' is not a commonly used term in Britain these days but that has not always been the case. It was the title of a popular Saturday morning television show, 'Soccer AM,' which ran from 1994 to 2023 on the Premier League's host broadcaster Sky Sports. England great and 1966 World Cup winner Bobby Charlton ran popular schools for decades, titled 'Bobby Charlton's Soccer School.' And Matt Busby — Manchester United's iconic manager who won the 1968 European Cup — titled his autobiography, which was published in 1974, 'Soccer at the Top, My Life in Football." That book title suggests the terms 'soccer' and 'football' were interchangeable in British culture at that time. Perhaps the word 'soccer' isn't the real problem Szymanski suggested the problem some people have with 'soccer' isn't the word at all. But rather that it is specifically used in America. 'It's when Americans use this word that we get the outpourings of distress and horror, and one of the most popular thoughts that people throw at this is to say that American football is not really football,' he said in his lecture. He argued that given the overwhelming popularity of the NFL in the U.S. it makes perfect sense to differentiate between soccer and its own version of football. Not just Americans call it soccer The use of the word 'soccer' is a bit more confused in other countries. Australia, which has its own Australian rules football along with both rugby codes, commonly uses the term and its national men's team are known as the Socceroos. It's soccer federation, however, is called Football Australia. It's a similar situation in Ireland, where Gaelic football is popular. The term 'soccer' is used but the national soccer team is still governed by a body called the Football Association of Ireland. Canada, like the U.S. simply calls it soccer, which clearly distinguishes it from the NFL and Canadian Football League. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Independent
16 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
20 killed in crush at Israeli and US-backed aid site in Gaza, group says
CNN — At least 20 people were killed in a crowd crush at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial Israeli- and US-backed organization said Wednesday, the first time it has acknowledged deaths at one of its sites. According to the GHF, the people died in a 'chaotic and dangerous surge,' which it said was 'driven by agitators in the crowd.' The aid group said 19 people were trampled and one person was stabbed in the crowd crush. The GHF alleged that individuals who were 'armed and affiliated with Hamas' deliberately instigated the chaos. 'For the first time since operations began, GHF personnel identified multiple firearms in the crowd, one of which was confiscated,' it said. Hamas' Government Media Office (GMO) blamed the GHF for the incident, claiming the group called on Palestinians to receive aid at the site in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, then 'proceeded to lock the iron gates after herding thousands of starving people into narrow iron corridors.' The Palestinian health ministry said 21 people were killed in the incident, 15 of whom died from suffocation after tear gas was fired at a crowd of people awaiting aid, triggering a crowd crush. The other six people were shot in the upper body by Israeli forces, it said. When asked about the alleged shootings, the Israeli military referred CNN to GHF's previous statement on the incident. One eyewitness, Yahya Al Sousi, told CNN that he was 'running to get aid' when 'the Americans closed the gates in front of us.' 'We went through an opened small gate and they started spraying us with pepper spray. Many suffocated and were run over by people, and all those who were on the floor are martyrs,' he said. Mohammad Shatat, another eyewitness, described a similar situation. After 'the Americans' closed the gates, people 'started running towards' one of them, Shatat said. 'When the Americans saw this, they opened the gate and sprayed us with pepper spray,' he said. 'People fell on each other and everyone who was behind was stepping on the people in the front,' he said, adding that 'people were suffocating and dying.' US security contractors operate inside the GHF's aid sites, and the Israeli military is usually positioned outside. CNN has approached the Israeli military for comment on the latest incident. Members of a private US security company, contracted by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), direct displaced Palestinians as they gather to receive relief supplies at a distribution center in the central Gaza Strip on June 8, 2025. Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images Hundreds of people have been killed while trying to access aid in Gaza since the GHF began operating in the Strip, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nearly 800 people were killed in this way between late May and July 7, it said, 615 of whom were killed near GHF sites. Palestinian officials and witnesses have said the Israeli military is responsible for most of those deaths. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots towards crowds in some instances, and denied responsibility for other incidents. In late June, the military said it had 'reorganized' the approach routes to aid sites to minimize 'friction with the population.' On Saturday, the Palestinian health ministry said 27 people were killed and many more injured when Israeli troops opened fire on people trying to obtain aid from a distribution site run by the GHF near southern Rafah. The GHF denied the claim, saying 'there were no incidents at or in the immediate vicinity of our sites' on Saturday. The Israeli military also denied that anyone was injured by gunfire from its troops in the vicinity of the site but said it continued to review the reports. It told CNN Sunday it had no further comment. A scathing US government assessment of the GHF reported on by CNN last week shows that USAID officials raised 'critical concerns' about the group's ability to protect Palestinians and to deliver them food. The assessment flagged a range of concerns, from an overall plan missing 'even basic details' to a proposal to potentially distribute powdered baby formula in an area that lacks clean water to prepare it. A GHF spokesperson defended the organization's work in Gaza and described the USAID assessment as normal for a funding application. In its statement released Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said that 'the Israeli occupation and the American establishment are deliberately committing massacres in a systematic manner and using various methods against the starving people.'
Egypt Independent
16 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
A party resolution accusing Israel of genocide divides Democrats in a key swing state
CNN — When the executive committee of North Carolina's Democratic Party passed a resolution in June calling for an immediate arms embargo on Israel, it set off another episode in the party's ongoing struggles with how it addresses the Israel-Hamas war. Some Jewish Democrats in North Carolina said the resolution was consistent with their support of Palestinian human rights while others characterized it as divisive. The resolution's backers are talking to Democrats in other states who want to take the same stand. And top state leaders – notably the party chair and North Carolina's Democratic governor – have declined to comment. The Israel-Hamas war still divides the party as it did before the November election, when Democratic nominee Kamala Harris faced protests and boycott threats from parts of the base before eventually losing to President Donald Trump. In North Carolina, where Sen. Thom Tillis' retirement opened an opportunity for Democrats to flip a Republican-held seat, some in the party are worried the disunity will make it harder to compete in a race they almost certainly have to win next year to regain Senate control. Sen. Thom Tillis listens during a Senate Judiciary Hearing on June 18 in Washington, DC.'This is an issue that's going to divide Democrats at a time when Democrats need to be working together on the issues that voters actually care about, the kitchen table issues,' said Kathy Manning, who chairs the Board of Directors for the advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel. Alan Smith, a lead sponsor of the resolution and a member of the state party's progressive caucus, sees it differently. Passing the resolution, he argues, shows the party is responsive to the will of Democratic voters. 'I think it's only going to help the Democratic Party. It's going to get people to come back,' Smith said. According to a May survey from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Democrats younger than 45 are far less likely than their older partisan peers to favor the US supporting Israel militarily, with only 38% saying they favor military support until the hostages are returned, compared with 48% support among older Democrats. Disputes over the war have shaped other Democratic races, notably the New York mayoral primary, where Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and strident critic of Israel, scored an upset victory despite criticism from some Jewish groups that he hadn't sufficiently denounced antisemitism. And in Michigan, where Democrats hope to retain control of an open Senate seat next year, the main candidates in the primary have taken sharply different positions on the war. Trump flipped Michigan in 2024 in part by capitalizing on anger in both Jewish and Arab American communities. How the resolution passed Though other Democratic state parties, in Wisconsin and Washington, have recently passed resolutions critical of Israel since the country launched its war against Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the language passed by North Carolina Democrats is the only example that explicitly calls for an embargo on military aid and weapons transfers and accuses the state of committing genocide and apartheid. 'The military resources that have been made available to Israel through annual and emergency military aid have been used to commit the crime of genocide and other war crimes in Gaza,' it reads. 'The North Carolina Democratic Party supports an immediate embargo on all military aid, weapons shipments and military logistical support to Israel,' it continues. The resolution also won the support of NCDP's African American Caucus, the Arab Caucus, the LGBTQ+ Caucus, the Association of Teen Democrats, the Jewish Democrats and various other groups within the state party. Israel rejects claims that its war against Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack and still holds Israeli hostages, constitutes a genocide. It also rejects allegations that its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is akin to apartheid. Earlier this month the Gaza Health Ministry reported the Palestinian death toll had passed 58,000, with the most recent rounds of casualties taking place near food distribution sites. Lightning strikes over Gaza City following an Israeli bombardment on October 9, 2023. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Manning says Democratic Majority for Israel is in conversations with Democratic voters across the state and helping them to make their displeasure with the resolution known to state party leadership. The resolution's advocates worked over a multiyear process to get the statement passed, starting at the local precinct level, on to the county convention, then through the congressional district convention, the platform resolutions committee and ultimately the party's state executive committee. 'We see it as an issue of unity and an issue that is local, because we want taxpayer dollars to be invested here, and we believe that speaking up for human lives, including Palestinian lives, is actually a local issue and is a reminder that when grassroots groups come together, that they can accomplish the things that they wish to see within their party,' said Reem Subei, chair of the party's Arab Caucus. Since the resolution's passage, Subei says those engaged with their state-level executive committees have reached out to her asking how they could mirror this effort, including organizers in Texas, Oklahoma and Minnesota. Lisa Jewel, president of the state Democratic party's Jewish Caucus, condemned the resolution as divisive and leaned on leadership to block the effort. 'Our leadership needs to call these extremists out. They need to take a strong stand against antisemitism. By placating these extremists, it helps raise the drum beat that leads to violence,' said Jewel, arguing that state Democrats should be focused on cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, women's reproductive health, the cost of housing, gerrymandering, and other consensus-driven issues. She also voiced fear in the wake of threats against her own synagogue. The Jewish Caucus was created last year in response to what Jewel described as growing antisemitism in the Democratic party and across North Carolina. This is not to be confused with the state party's Jewish Democrats, a separate group that supported the resolution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on July 9. Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images For a long time, party leadership resisted religious groups creating their own caucuses and wanted the groups to all fall within the Interfaith Caucus out of fear of these very types of disputes, but Jewel says some Jews did not feel welcome in the interfaith group and insisted they would go out on their own. 'It is not feasible for us to disconnect our Judaism from Israel, regardless of the politics that are happening there. It's just part of who we are,' said Jewel. Mark Bochkis, who leads communications for the Jewish Democrats, said he moved to Greensboro as a child from the former Soviet Union and that his extended family lives in Israel. 'We have to take a look at what wins statewide, and we cannot ignore the will of Democratic voters or their values. And their values right now are saying we care about Palestinian human rights,' Bochkis said. 'This is the new North Carolina Democratic Party. This is the way forward. I think the Jewish Caucus represents kind of a view that we're moving past,' he added. The next flashpoint will be if or when the resolution is ultimately adopted into the party platform. Its supporters believe they have cleared all the necessary procedural hurdles and that it will eventually be a part of the party's mission statement, but its opponents argue party leadership can still block that from happening. The timeline for when the platform will be voted on is unclear. Many state party leaders have stayed silent There is no readily available record of who supported the measure and no video or even mention of the proceeding on the state Democratic Party's website, though proponents of the resolution say it passed 161-151. According to people who attended the vote, party chair Anderson Clayton and other party officers abstained. Clayton has not commented publicly in local press in the weeks since the resolution passed and declined to speak to CNN. Gov. Josh Stein, the state's first Jewish governor, and his predecessor, Roy Cooper, who many state and national Democrats are pushing to run for Tillis' open Senate seat, also declined requests for comment. An adviser to Cooper told CNN that he generally does not opine on party resolutions. Former US Rep. Wiley Nickel speaks to a crowd after winning the Democratic primary for the 13th congressional district of North Carolina on May 17, 2022, in Raleigh, North US Rep. Wiley Nickel, who is already running for Tillis' seat, dismissed the resolution as one-sided but also criticized the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'In an issue as complex as this, nuance is essential, and that's something politics often overlooks. You can look at my record and see I'm a staunch supporter of Israel as a key U.S. ally, but I also care deeply about the suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza. The current approach by Trump and Netanyahu is not leading us toward peace or a two-state solution. Instead, their policies are fueling division and perpetuating violence, making a two-state solution seem more out of reach than ever,' said Nickel in a statement to CNN. And Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee who could also mount a Senate run, reaffirmed his commitment to Israel as an ally of the United States. 'I believe that providing support to our allies, including Israel, is essential in our commitment to countering the threats posed by the Iranian regime and its associated terrorist proxies,' said Davis in a statement to CNN.
