He lauds strongmen autocrats, hangs with martial arts stars, and has no greater compliment than calling someone a “fighter”. Donald Trump is going all out for the macho vote in November’s election – and it’s working.
Advertisement
The real estate tycoon and former president has long crafted an often cartoonish, hyper-masculine image – most controversially including bragging about sexual assault.
Now, in an election where Kamala Harris is vying to become America’s first woman president, Trump’s macho powers are being put to the ultimate test.
Harris is seeing a surge in female support and has made the question of abortion rights a top campaign issue. Trump, meanwhile, is unapologetically drilling down into the part of the electorate that loves cryptocurrency, the ultra-violent Ultimate Fighting Championship, and thinks society has become too feminine and “woke”.
“He speaks to our generation,” said Nick Passano, standing with four tattooed fellow millennial cryptocurrency investors who dub themselves the Maga Boyz, at Trump’s Make America Great Again, or MAGA, rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, last month.