U.S. President Donald Trump raises his fist while boarding Air Force One, as he departs for Pennsylvania, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
During the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump not only rallied his hardcore MAGA base — he also reached out to independents and Trump-curious members of the Manosphere. And that included interviews with Manosphere-friendly podcasters like Joe Rogan.
But according to Never Trump conservative Matt Lewis, the controversy over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation may hurt Trump's popularity with the Manosphere.
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is accusing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi of an Epstein cover-up and is threatening to resign from his position if Bondi doesn't resign from hers. Trump, however, is sticking by Bondi and urging his supporters to move on from Epstein.
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During a mid-July appearance on "The Jim Acosta Show," Lewis (a columnist for The Hill) told former CNN host Acosta, "Look, I think what's really dangerous for Donald Trump here are the last part of the coalition that kind of came together in 2024 — call them the Manosphere, right? You've got this guy, Andrew Schulz, you've got Joe Rogan, you got Theo Vonn; they were really important for bringing kind of apathetic, non-political people into the Trump fold. I don't think they're partisan hacks."
Acosta agreed with Acosta's analysis, saying, "They liked — they were attracted to Donald Trump by his frat boy antics and his locker room talk…. You're absolutely right. The Manosphere is like… Dude, dude, where's my conspiracy theory?"
Lewis laughed, joking, "I think you just got the title for this YouTube show." And he reiterated his point that Rogan and other Manosphere podcasters are not staunch partisans.
"Absolutely, I think there's a danger that they peel off because they were not, you know, dyed- in-the-wool Republicans," Lewis told Acosta. "And I think, you were talking about how they liked they liked Trump's demeanor. They were also just turned off by the left, you know — by kind of the woke left that told them you can't use this language. You can't call people the R-word. But they're not hacks, you know, and I think they're gonna push back on this one."
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Watch the full video at this Mediaite link.