Trump campaign eyes support from young men

Convincing them to vote is difficult, as they are less likely to show up at polls than women

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A young dude with a beard is slouched on the couch, a slice of pizza in one hand, TV remote in the other.

“If you sit this election out,” says the male voice-over in an ad that ran on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X, “Kamala and the crazies will win.”

The 15-second spot by tycoon Elon Musk’s political action committee goes on to say that Donald Trump is an “American Badass”, backed with the iconic image of his bloodied face and raised fist after an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally.

The ad is part of a push by Trump’s campaign and its allies to convince young men to get off the couch and vote for the former president. With less than 40 days before election day, the number of truly undecided voters in the electorate is small and shrinking. Winning depends on getting supporters to the polls in the seven swing states that will determine the path to 270 electoral votes.

Men tend to support Trump, but younger people gravitate towards Democratic nominee Kamala Harris: 49 per cent of men had a favorable view of Trump versus 45 per cent of women, according to the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of swing state voters. Among those aged 18 to 34, 46 per cent had a favorable impression of Trump and 57 per cent felt that way about Ms Harris.

However, men are also less likely to show up at the polls.

Women have registered to vote and turned up to cast a ballot - at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980, according to census data and the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. And the gender divide could not be starker this election cycle.