The party 'began to sneer at them': Why men are deserting the Democrats

The 2024 presidential election brought up many problems for the Democratic Party. Among more and less serious ones, there is one that particularly stood out, so much so that it inspired dozens of political columnists to give their diagnosis: the loss of male voters. One of the authors who was encouraged to give his opinion was John Mac Ghlionn, who chose to capture it in The Hill, where he reflected the following: "The same movement that once celebrated builders and breadwinners began to sneer at them."

In November 2024, the Trump-Vance ticket defeated the Harris-Walz ticket in every swing state, as well as pulling off a surprise in the popular vote. Among men, the difference was twelve percentage points, 55% to 43%.

In turn, compared to 2020, Donald Trump managed to gain ten points among men, double his numbers with African-American men and win among Hispanic men by two points, after losing them by thirteen points.

Months later, Democrats spent $20 million to analyze how to communicate efficiently with "American men." The assignment aimed to "study the syntax, language and content that captures attention and virality" of male voters.

"The trend isn’t a blip but a brutal reckoning"

In his opinion column in The Hill, Mac Ghlionn asserts that men's rejection of the Democratic Party was not a seasonal quirk, but a consequence of years of mistreatment: "A party that has spent years pathologizing masculinity can’t expect gratitude from the men it has spent so long diagnosing."

Performing a historical analysis, he wondered how a party that historically attracted men thanks to leaders like Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton, ended with Tim Walz as its best card to attract them. He even accused Kamala Harris' running mate of having "less a spark than a screensaver."

He also ridiculed current attempts to reconnect with men, arguing that "every strategy they devise sounds like it was written by someone who’s never met one."

"It wasn’t always this disconnected. The Democratic Party once inspired men to see themselves as part of something greater — families, unions and a country worth defending. Today, however, the same party mocks faith, discipline and fatherhood as punchlines. It worships inclusion but forgets loyalty. It preaches equality but forgets basic humanity," he added.

He compared this reality to that of Republicans, who, while imperfect, speak with "purpose" and of "work, pride, duty and protection."

To win back the male vote, or at least improve on 2024 numbers, Mac Ghlionn advised Democrats to "rediscover their toughness" and rediscover a message that speaks "to the soul."

"Until then, men will keep drifting right — not because they have changed, but because Democrats have. The party of Roosevelt and Kennedy has swapped mettle for madness, common sense for the kind of nonsense only consultants applaud. It no longer commands respect because it no longer gives it," the author ended.