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538: Trump's downplaying of COVID-19 may have helped him retain male voters

Teh_Lurv

Teh_Lurv

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,098
FiveThirtyEight published an article that hypothesized from recent survey results that Trump's bravado and downplaying of the COVID-19 pandemic may have helped him attract and retain male voters.

Given how unreliable the exit polls were this year, it will likely be a while before we know exactly how differently men and women voted in 2020. But a new survey from the American Enterprise Institute's Survey Center on American Life offers some clues, indicating that once again, gender and sexism may have been a big dividing line, as was the case in 2016.
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Men's and women's voting patterns have been diverging for the past few decades. But according to research conducted before and after the election, the COVID-19 pandemic may have played a large role in exacerbating gender divisions in the electorate. This split wasn't enough for Trump to win this time, of course, but his attitude toward the coronavirus crisis may actually have been a bonus for some men, which could present a real challenge for Biden moving forward.

Overall, most Americans consistently disapproved of the way Trump handled the pandemic, but the AEI poll found one notable exception — men who identify as "completely masculine."
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Responses to the pandemic likely would have been different among different types of men and women even if Trump weren't the president. And, of course, Trump's response overall wasn't very popular. But by actively seizing on the spread of COVID-19 as an opportunity to emphasize his own brand of hypermasculinity and portray his opponent as weak and ineffective, Trump may have crafted a tailor-made pitch for men whose own sense of masculinity was threatened by the pandemic.

Those men may have actually appreciated Trump's bravado in rejecting masks and repeatedly calling to reopen the economy over the objections of the public health community. In an experimental study conducted in 2016, Carian found that when men's masculinity was threatened by the prospect of job loss, they were more likely to say they wanted a masculine president — and of the two candidates, Trump was perceived as more masculine.
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fivethirtyeight.com

Why So Many Men Stuck With Trump In 2020

Given how unreliable the exit polls were this year, it will likely be a while before we know exactly how differently men and women voted in 2020. But a new surv…
fivethirtyeight.com fivethirtyeight.com
 
Amibguous Cad

Amibguous Cad

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,033
We can only hope. It'll be nice if Trump's performance among men of color is an aberration and that we're more likely to return to 2012-style gender coalitions.
 
trashbandit

trashbandit

Member
Dec 19, 2019
3,910
I used to think that "all men are assholes" was painting with a bit of a broad brush, but yknow, maybe I was wrong on that one.
 
Halbrand

Halbrand

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,616
Somehow for them he's cooler and more masculine than this guy.

Joe-Biden-classic-Corvette.jpg
 
yogurt

yogurt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,847
From my first hand experience with toxic masculinity bullshit I completely buy this.

Sigh.
 
Steel

Steel

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,220
Yeaaaahhhh, his performance this election has made me think he might've actually net benefited from COVID, as fucked up as that sounds.
 
Neo C.

Neo C.

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,004
Trump is stupid but his instinct is right: 'Strong men' can't be afraid of a virus. It's frustrating to see how his negligence almost paid off, toxic masculinity once again fucked up the election.
 
Chopchop

Chopchop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,171
Guys putting themselves and others in danger because they're afraid of looking weak is nothing new.
 
Davidion

Davidion

Charitable King
Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,086
Not really a shock. We won't have a better picture of the impact of his COVID denial for a while, but this is why all the "well if it wasn't for COVID he OBVIOUSLY would have won" bit was a dumb as hell sentiment.
 

Deleted member 86105

Banned
Nov 18, 2020
1,408
yogurt said:
From my first hand experience with toxic masculinity bullshit I completely buy this.

Sigh.
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Yup. Macho men love to cling to macho personalities. I know several Latino men whose parents are illegal immigrants...who voted for Trump specifically because of his bravado. The ultimate irony and yet that cult of personality is irresistible.
 
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Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,945
It's all about projecting strength but not actually having it. People love the idea of strongmen even more than normal in a crisis.
 
Violence Jack

Violence Jack

Drive-in Mutant
Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,771
Of course it was the "I'm a man's man, walk it off, rub some dirt on it, Murica" types. They have always seen Democrats as weak when those types are the biggest wusses around. Talks a lot of shit, and drives a big truck to overcompensate for how weak they really are.
 
MarioW

MarioW

PikPok
Verified
Nov 5, 2017
1,155
New Zealand
Trump's position may have won support with a certain demographic, but if he had handled the pandemic half decently he very well might have walked away with an election win.
 
squeakywheel

squeakywheel

Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,083
This is why my wife has given up hope ever seeing a woman elected President in our lifetime. Will be nigh impossible with toxic masculinity this widely spread.
 
TreeMePls

TreeMePls

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,258
MarioW said:
Trump's position may have won support with a certain demographic, but if he had handled the pandemic half decently he very well might have walked away with an election win.
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His cult wouldve drank any kool aid he gave them and he wouldve won over more independents.
 
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Civilstrife

Civilstrife

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,286
Toxic masculinity is truly a blight on civil society and is the root of many of the world's problems.
 
KtotheRoc

KtotheRoc

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,665
I will never understand why so many men are so insecure that they view wearing a mask during a pandemic as a sign of weakness instead of a sign of strength. "I will protect my friends, my family, and my community."
 
Nepenthe

Nepenthe

When the music hits, you feel no pain.
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
20,699
Men really did their best to try to kill as many of us as they could.
 

Imperfected

Member
Nov 9, 2017
11,737
The hilarious part about these faux-masculine douchebags is how bad they are at recognizing masculinity in others.

Like, Trump, really? He's an actual fop. A straight-up preening, spoiled, whining child. Unlike his idiot sons, he never tried to live the exaggerated, Hemmingway-inspired life of the "American Man": he doesn't hunt or fish, he doesn't grill red meat, he doesn't really smoke or drink, he never went to war, he never played football, he doesn't (despite having owned casinos) play poker, he's never done construction or carpentry (or, for that matter, any sort of blue-collar manual labor), he isn't stoic or taciturn. He literally exhibits none of the attributes that America came (much to the detriment of American men) to associate with frontier masculinity. He is, by those standards, a weak and effete man.

I mean, I guess the whole point is it's self-identified "totally masculine" men, whereas the actual Hank Hill/Ron Swanson types out there probably view themselves as being imperfectly masculine, but it's still hilarious. A non-Christian, effeminate coastal elite has become the icon of "masculine" Americans, somehow.
 

SasaBassa

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,079
A bunch of dumbasses voted for a fat stupid piece of shit, news at 11.

Male voters have been trash forever. Bad time to be a part of this group, Bob.
 
EdibleKnife

EdibleKnife

Member
Oct 29, 2017
7,723
The idea that these men see rejecting science and safety is manly is so fucked. Do they just not wear seatbelts either? Pretending you're immune to danger or acting like you're the smartest guy in the room when you're outclassed hundreds of times over makes you pathetic & delusional, not masculine. This is like basing your entire worldview on the personality of every cartoon high school jock/bully character.

KtotheRoc said:
I will never understand why so many men are so insecure that they view wearing a mask during a pandemic as a sign of weakness instead of a sign of strength. "I will protect my friends, my family, and my community."
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Because their mentality of manhood is based entirely on domination, conquest and spite towards the people, particularly the women in their lives, they feel entitled to. They're not interested in protecting anyone because in their minds they're inherently owed respect and fealty for having a penis to start with. They get off on people coming to them groveling & begging for their protection rather than granting it out of duty or love.
 
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