Currently, mainstream news is filled with autopsies analyzing the failures of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. Some Democrats lament flaws like her poor record or inability to moderate her positions. Others blame her for not going far left enough. Some are even attacking the voters like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, failing to look at their own massive faults and instead castigating Belle for not picking him. It is no mystery to the rest of us why the Beast won.
The biggest issues that helped President-elect Donald Trump secure a massive victory were the economy, immigration and foreign policy. This is no surprise after millions of illegal immigrants entered the United States under the Biden-Harris administration with all but no resistance or the wars that broke out in both the Middle East and Europe following a mismanaged withdrawal from Afghanistan. The pundits are all repeating these sentiments, and rightfully so. But, there is also another aspect of Trump’s victory few people want to look at because it would undermine their belief that he is Satan.
Constantly, political candidates spend all their time and resources trying to portray themselves as authentic, relatable ordinary people who never dreamed of occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue instead of the power-hungry President Underwood-wannabes they likely are. Some politicians have almost a natural talent for projecting this imagery. Former President Bill Clinton’s political career serves as an essential guide for political salesmanship. Despite attending Georgetown University for undergrad, Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and Yale Law School after avoiding being drafted, he was still able to rely on his small-town Arkansan roots to reach ordinary Americans. But, make no mistake, he was authentically himself in one indispensable way; he was truly charismatic. Trump also has this quality.
Now, Trump isn’t relatable in the way any other modern politician has manifested themselves. The man has always lived a wealthy playboy lifestyle. His personal life leaves something to be desired. He often says shocking things that are not appropriate for public discourse. But he is masculine. He connects with people. And he doesn’t try to pretend to be anything else. Right or wrong, a lot of people like that more than the carefully crafted facade of the rest of Washington.
Last weekend, Trump attended UFC 309 with a cast of important figures ranging from Elon Musk to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. The reception upon Trump walking into Madison Square Garden bespeaks his larger image. Trump enjoys watching fights. Ordinary folks enjoy watching fights. Trump enjoys McDonald’s. Ordinary folks enjoy McDonald’s. Trump enjoys people. People notice that. The list goes on. And a lot of Americans find these qualities endearing. When Trump walked into Madison Square Garden, the crowd roared.
The Trump campaign was meticulous in emphasizing these features. Trump succeeded in crusading through popular, masculine alternative media over the course of the election. The most popular appearance, of course, was on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which Harris opted not to appear on without a list of demands being met.
President Nixon used to say, “The worst sin in politics is being boring,” and perceived inauthenticity is boring. This doesn’t just refer to vocal inflection and hand gesticulation. Keeping Harris on teleprompter with the same empty stump speeches was doomed to fail. No amount of celebrity endorsements was going to change this. No amount of mainstream media sycophancy was going to persuade voters, either.
Trump was anything but boring this election cycle. The man was shot, for goodness’ sake. His comeback story politically exceeds Nixon’s. But, even on policy alone, Trump’s campaign was successfully attractive to voters, particularly men.
Now, do these things actually matter for being the president? Not necessarily. But, if you want to understand the gigantic image problem plaguing the Democratic Party and how they begin to solve it, you cannot overlook the masculine qualities of the Republican Party. Masculinity is good. And the men who concur are not going to be nagged into voting for a party that thinks and acts otherwise.
