New data from a progressive think-tank, polling firm and political advocacy group shows that while most voters think President Donald Trump's economy is the biggest issue, male MAGA voters believe America's biggest problems are cultural.
"While rising costs were voters’ top issue this past election, some have argued that the shift to Trump among young men — and a similar shift in Europe, where rising support for the far right has been most pronounced among young men — is driven by something deeper," according to Data for Progress writer Lew Blank.
According to social scientist Richard Reeves, "young men are being driven rightward in part by feelings of unneededness in their work and communities, which are associated with increasing levels of social isolation and a perceived lack of purpose."
In their newest survey, Data for Progress gave voters two different descriptions of America’s problems — one that was focused on affordability, and one that was focused on declines in meaning and community — and asked them which presents a bigger problem for the country.
While the majority replied that economic message was a bigger issue than meaning and community 67 percent to 30 percent, when it came to men who voted for Trump, the meaning and community message outperformed the economy 51 percent to 47 percent.
Women who voted for Trump chose the economy by a 65 percent to 32 percent margin, the report shows.
Those surveyed were also asked "simply if America’s problems are more economic or cultural," Blank explains.
A majority — 58 percent — say that America’s problems are more economic, while 38 percent say they are more cultural.
"Once again, men who voted for Trump are the only demographic group to prioritize non-economic issues, with 50 percent saying America’s problems are more cultural and 46 percent saying they are more economic," Blank explains.
"Broadly, these findings demonstrate that while voters overall view affordability as a larger problem than declines in meaning and community, men who voted for Trump are more divided and slightly prioritize meaning and community-based concerns."
Multiple academic and journalistic sources have explored the relationship between toxic masculinity, Trump's political appeal and his supporters, with recent reports focusing on the 2024 election and beyond.
A key finding is that support for Trump among both men and women is often strongly predicted by an individual's embrace of hegemonic masculinity — a belief system rooted in traditional, and sometimes aggressive, gender roles.
According to Image magazine's Edaein O'Connell, Trump's supporters represent "a gaggle of genuflecting goblins are a group of insecure teenagers in men's bodies with more money than common sense and an existential need to cling to influence."