Why Young MAGA Men Are Turning on Trump: Pollster

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Daily Beast Podcast

Episode: Why Young MAGA Men Are Turning on Trump: Pollster
Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Joanna Coles
Guest: John Della Volpe, Director, Institute of Politics at Harvard

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Episode Overview

This episode examines why young male supporters who once helped elect Donald Trump are now feeling increasingly alienated and negative about his presidency. Pollster John Della Volpe provides deep insight into shifting attitudes among young men, drawing on focus groups and recent polling. The discussion covers the collapse of institutional trust, the changing nature of youth political engagement, and what both Republicans and Democrats misunderstand about this critical demographic.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Shift in Young Men’s Attitudes Toward Trump

• Dramatic Change in Approval:
  • Initial Support: In January, 55% of young men said Trump was having a positive impact on their lives—a “plus 33” net positive (12:36–14:24).
  • Recent Numbers: By late September, this fell to 31% positive, with 43% saying negative—a shift to minus 12 net (-45 points) (13:58–14:24).
  • Quote:

    “I can't think of a worse number for him right now.”
    – John Della Volpe (17:55)

• Main Reasons for the Decline:
  • Everyday costs are higher; economic promises unfulfilled.
  • Perceived distractions (e.g., East Wing demolition) instead of action on jobs/economy (14:55–16:32).
  • General sense of betrayal—Trump promised young men they could be providers, which isn’t happening.

2. Institutional Disdain and Community Seeking

• Desire for Community:
  • Young men crave spaces for real connection, not just ideological echo chambers (04:30–07:04).
  • Past importance of places like churches, mosques, and clubs—now weakened, though there’s a Millennial and Gen Z resurgence in faith-based community (09:28–11:56).
• Political Movements vs. Real Community:
  • Bernie Sanders and AOC have created “movements,” but these are still fundamentally political. Charlie Kirk (Turning Point USA) succeeded by building community first, politics second (07:12–08:57).

3. The Fallout From Charlie Kirk’s Assassination & Leadership Changes

• Turning Point USA under Erica Kirk:
  • Open question whether new (female) leadership can replicate Charlie Kirk’s charisma and influence (03:32–07:04).
  • Not necessarily about identity—men have also followed older leaders like Bernie Sanders, and some men support female leaders like AOC.

4. Core Disappointments with Political Parties

• Both Parties Viewed as Corrupt/Oligarchic:
  • Focus group metaphor: if parties were people, both would wear “NASCAR jackets” with corporate sponsors (23:27).
    • Quote:

      “If the parties were people… they’d be wearing one of those NASCAR type, you know, sweaters... representing all the people who own a piece of you.”
      – John Della Volpe (23:27)

  • Democrats seen as the "HR department”—polite, inoffensive, but in the end serving “the man,” and making people nervous about being reprimanded (21:49–22:49).
• Charismatic Leadership Still Resonates:
  • Young men respond to perceived fearlessness and authenticity (Sanders, Trump, Mamdani) over committee-driven, safe politicking (25:13–25:49).

5. Anti-Establishment & Cross-Ideological Voting Patterns

• Many young men and women voted for Trump as a protest against the system but now feel disillusioned.
• Not switching directly to Democrats—instead, looking for “anti-establishment” options, even mixing Sanders/Trump/Mamdani votes (24:48–25:13).

6. The Role of Social Media & Tech Mistrust

• Young men are acutely aware of the damaging impact of social media; TikTok’s Chinese ownership doesn’t come up, but forced exposure to extreme content is a major complaint (29:40–31:23).
• Craving for government regulation, but do not trust either party to deliver—see both as in Big Tech’s pocket.

7. Unique Concerns: Epstein Files and Transparency

• For a subset of young men, anti-establishment sentiment includes calls for transparency—like demand for “the Epstein files” as proof the system isn’t rigged (01:28, 25:49).
• Quote:

  “Are you going to release the Epstein files? Literally, that is what he said.”
  – John Della Volpe (01:28, 25:49)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On shifting Trump approval among young men:

  “That’s a 45 point shift. Okay. In nine months.”
  – John Della Volpe (14:24)

• On party stereotypes:

  "Democrat is the HR department. They act like they really care about you, but they actually work for the man."
  – Focus group participant, recounted by John Della Volpe (21:49)

• On young people’s media literacy:

  “They’re deeply concerned… Younger men, younger people want far more government oversight here… But again, they believe it’s those corporate patches that Democrats, Republicans are wearing.”
  – John Della Volpe (29:40–31:23)

• On the core divide in America:

  “The biggest divide in this country today… is the divide between people who feel heard versus people who feel unheard.”
  – John Della Volpe (32:52)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:09 — Why Epstein comes up with young men in focus groups
• 03:32 — Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA, and the shift post-assassination
• 09:28 — Decline & return of religion/community among young people
• 12:36–14:24 — Poll numbers: sharp Trump approval decline since inauguration
• 17:55 — “Worst number” for Trump among young men
• 21:49–23:27 — Party stereotypes: “HR department” and “NASCAR jackets”
• 25:49 — Epstein files & demand for transparency
• 29:40–31:23 — Social media: awareness, frustration, distrust
• 32:52 — Main division in America: those who feel heard vs. unheard

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Conclusion & Key Takeaways

• Young men’s support for Trump has cratered—primarily due to unmet economic expectations and perceptions of inaction.
• Both parties are viewed cynically; neither is seen as representing young people’s interests, and “anti-establishment” attitudes are growing.
• Craving for community: Young men—left and right—want real connection, not just online activism or political movements.
• Charisma trumps ideology: Authentic, fearless leadership still holds power as institutions falter. Cross-ideological voting is up.
• Media frustration: Young people are deeply aware of social media pitfalls and want protections—yet distrust the parties to provide them.
• Democrats shouldn’t assume disenchantment with Trump means votes for them; the void could be filled by new anti-establishment figures.
• Key lesson: Whoever listens to and genuinely hears young people—beyond politics-as-usual—will hold the advantage.

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For further insight, John Della Volpe’s new Harvard poll results will be out after Thanksgiving, and he advocates for more qualitative, in-depth listening—beyond the horse-race numbers.

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Summary by [Your AI Podcast Summarizer]

Transcript

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[Joanna Coles]

There's one person that we know does concern Donald Trump and certainly undermines him, and that's Jeffrey Epstein. The specter of Jeffrey Epstein from beyond the grave. At one point, his best friend before they had a falling out. Does his name ever come up when you're talking to young people?

[John Della Volpe]

It did. It came up. We did focus group this past weekend. Basically, two promises that this young man remembered, right? One is, are you going to kind of give me a fighting chance, right, to, to, to live my best life and, you know, are you going to release the Epstein files? Literally, that is what he said. Those, those two things.

[Joanna Coles]

I'm Joanna Coles. This is the Daily Beast podcast. And today we're going to be talking about young men and how important they were in helping Donald Trump get elected feel about him. Now, 10 months into his Trump 2.0, who else to talk about this with but John Della Volpe. You may remember he came onto the podcast in the summer, shedding light about poll numbers. He is the director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard, and he is here brimming with all the latest poll numbers and deep, deep insight into what young men in particular are feeling about their place in America today. So no more time to wa waste. John de Lavalpe, let's get into it. So, John, we haven't spoken since the Death of Charlie Kirk. What have you been up to?

[John Della Volpe]

I've been on the road as much as I possibly can. I mean, I am on campus, you know, one or two days a week. But to do my job well, Joanna, I need to be out to America, right? So I don't know. I've been to Atlanta, St. Louis, Denver, a bunch of other places, listening in, talking to people, and there's been some significant reflections post Charlie Kirk. But really I think what I'm picking up is this like strong feeling that the system is just broken, it's not working. Charlie Kirk was a vehicle for many young people, but there's an opportunity I'm hearing and picking up in America for more people to do more, listening to, empower people who want to be a part of politics and trying to save this democracy.

[Joanna Coles]

Do you think that Turning Point USA is going to have the same impact with a woman at its head? Charlie Kirk was a charismatic leader. He was also a young man. Is it likely that Erica Kirk can inspire the same kind of connection that her late husband did?

[John Della Volpe]

Well, I wouldn't rule anything out. Okay. We find that if you, if you take a step back, right. That younger men in many cases are most, some younger men, right, Were connected to Kirk, but a of other younger men were connected to one of the most elderly politicians in America today, Bernie Sanders. Right. So it's not always like a one to one. Younger men connect with only other younger men who look like them. Right. So I wouldn't rule out the fact that younger men can be kind of attracted to other kind of prominent figures who may not be reflecting their specific identity. Right. What's more important than that?

[Joanna Coles]

Do you think they can, I mean, can you give me examples of where they've related to a woman in this, in this sort of situation?

[John Della Volpe]

Some of AOC's supporters, some of her strongest supporters are our younger men. So if the question is, can younger conservative men be attracted to Erica Kirk, that's a different question. Okay, so what does she represent? Does she represent having a space where younger people can ask different difficult questions? Okay. And perhaps she won't likely have the same approach that he had, but could she still create that space where younger people feel comfortable asking questions? Charlie Kirk, you know, wasn't Charlie KIRK, you know, 10 years ago when he started? Right. He was a frustrated young high school student, Right. Who wanted to create community and wanted to find other young conservative kind of religious, faithful people who he could spend time with, which ultimately grew into one of the most significant political movements in the Century, I think, okay, so it doesn't necessarily need to be the same playbook, but what it needs to be, I think to attract any younger person around politics today, because there is such disdain for institutions, okay. Is we need to collectively find places where younger people find community, where there is a shared culture which ultimately can be developed into, you know, political positions, ideology, organizing. My point here is that that can happen on the right, it can happen on the left. And there are more people on the left whose values align with kind of progressive ideology, but they don't have that space. So I wrote a piece, joined in the New York Times just a couple of days after Kirk's assassination, and I kind of broke it out and I said, there are four or five steps I think that are worth studying that made Kirk Kir, that helped elect the president, states, it was hard work. He was engaging, the right was engaging. And whether again, his, his widow and his colleagues can take it to the right, that's one thing, okay? But my point is there should be an opportunity to do the same thing on the left. And that's what I've been waiting for for decades.

[Joanna Coles]

What is the oligarchy tour then? Both AOC and Bernie Sanders are charismatic leaders. Haven't they created a space?

[John Della Volpe]

They've created a movement, but it's different, I think, because it's a campaign. Okay? It's still about politics first. Okay? And what Kirk did, okay, was create spaces outside of politics. Not everyone wants to be talking about oligarchy 24 7, 365, okay? They want to be talking about their day to day lives. That's what I find in every single focus group room that I enter. You know, people seem to be nervous when we walk in thinking it's going to be a political debate or quiz or something. But when we end up just asking about how their day is going, you know, what's a good day, what stresses them out, what their life is like, what we don't understand. They feel empowered and they ask me when they can do this again. Those are the kinds of spaces I'm talking about, okay, where they're based upon community and culture. And then you get to talking about the oligarchs, you get to talking about, you know, why the system is, in their view, kind of preventing them from living their best life, perhaps at the life that their parents led just 25 or so years ago. Okay? My point is that Kirk led with culture first, with community first, and then politics followed. And I do think that there's an opportunity on the left AOC Sanders. We certainly see this in New York City right now with Mondami. I think Monda, me perhaps has as much of an ability as anyone I've seen to actually kind of extend his appeal in this conversation beyond just an election into something kind of bigger that gives people kind of a stake, it makes people feel heard, and that's important.

[Joanna Coles]

Is this the sort of place that traditionally churches or mosques or temples would have played in people's lives and then Covid sort of slowed down what was already a dwindling of people going to these places. And now people are still looking for the same things that they used to talk about in church or in mosques or temples, but they don't physically turn up at them anymore. They go to the gym on a Sunday morning or a Friday night instead.

[John Della Volpe]

Yes. And this is not just like a post Covid five year phenomenon. This is a decades long phenomenon from I think one of the most important sociologists in our history, Robert Putnam, talked about probably two decades ago in Bowling Alone. Right. It's how we're losing social capital in connection to our friends or neighbors, our fellow citizens, because he argued, after the Second World War, we moved out to suburbs, air condition was on, we weren't walking, we weren't enjoying each other's company in bowling alleys and clubs and those sorts of things. So this has been decades, I think in the making. But I think the really interesting and really good news is as again, someone who cares about reconnecting social fabric is it's actually a return to church, to temple, to mosque, in fact, specifically among younger people. In fact, there's been a lot of research just in the last couple of years. There are actually more members of Millennial generation and Gen Z attending services than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. So that's something to keep a close eye on. And I've actually spent some time actually talking with folks just in the last couple of months about this very subject, about the role of religion and faith and showing up to a service or using apps and television, etc. And what I'm hear is it's actually a place to disconnect, right. And to be present. And what's interesting, I think about this, about this generation, is there is this return to traditional religion. And part of that, I think is an antidote to the overwhelming stress that people feel when they're connected to their phones. Right. And that by definition is a place you can't do that. You need to see each other and be present. And it's a trend Worth picking up. It's more, I think, prevalent on the Charlie Kirk side of the political spectrum, but it's not. I think we're seeing similar interest in rebuilding faith communities on the left as well.

[Joanna Coles]

Okay, super interesting. And possibly a very positive sign for society, people understanding that the smartphone isolates them and craving to get back to. To company and actually being in person with people. So what are the polls telling you right now about where in particular young men are? We've talked before about young men being such an important constituency for Donald Trump to get elected. How are they feeling one year in? Or I guess it's 10 months into his actual rule, but it's a year since, since the election.

[John Della Volpe]

We're all familiar with those traditional questions. Do you approve? Do you disapprove? Fave, unfave. Right track, wrong track. The question that I ask on a monthly basis, Joanna, in a monthly poll I do at my company, Social Sphere, is, I think, more direct, which is, is Donald Trump having a positive or negative impact on your life? Okay. Or no difference. And what we found in January, 10 days or so before the inauguration, we found among younger men, a majority, 55%, said seven. A positive impact. Okay. And most of that obviously was around feeling heard and the potential for economic strength and kind of a return for younger men feeling like they could be the providers that they want to be. Okay. That was 55%.

[Joanna Coles]

Right. And push back against DEI and the fear of cancellation for saying what you actually think.

[John Della Volpe]

Exactly. All of those things. All those. Okay. Only 22% said negative. More than 2 to 1. Okay. The last wave of this survey that I did, it was in the, it was just less than a month ago, it was end of September, and the 55% number went to 31%.

[Joanna Coles]

Wow, that's a big problem.

[John Della Volpe]

Less than a third say he's having a positive impact on their Life. Okay. And 43% say it's negative. Okay. So the way, the way we think about this is in January he had a plus 33. Okay. 33 points, net positive impact today. Minus 12.

[Joanna Coles]

Minus 12.

[John Della Volpe]

That's a 45 point shift. Okay. In nine months.

[Joanna Coles]

Is that the biggest shift you've ever seen? That seems pretty dramatic.

[John Della Volpe]

It's up there. I'll tell you something, women, you know, shifted 41 points. Okay. They were net zero. Okay. As many thought positive as negative. And now it's 18 positive impact, 59 negative impacts.

[Joanna Coles]

What is the reason for that? What are, why are they feeling more negative than they were just before the inauguration?

[John Della Volpe]

I think it is is just really simple, which is every time they walk out of their house or their apartment, if they're lucky to have one, okay, everything costs more than it did a year ago, right? Everything costs more than a year ago. When I looked at the overall feelings of the economy, I looked at the Economist YouGov survey over the weekend and a majority of the of all Americans, the highest number in the last year, think the economy is off on the wrong track. And we can see that reflected in everybody, specifically younger people. They're 10 points more likely today than when Biden was in office a year ago to say that the economy is off on the wrong track. So so much of it is driven by that one. And then also I think they're looking at the East Room, they're looking at Venezuela. Venezuela. They're looking at myriad of these other issues and they're seeing through them and they believe it's cynical. We ask these kinds of questions in the polling from the national guard in Washington, D.C. through some of these other issues. They feel like they're basically an abstraction from what distraction from what is the reason that so many younger men voted for him in the first place is ultimately, he promised to help them be a better provider and many are beginning to feel betrayed.

[Joanna Coles]

So really young men are impacted by the demolition of the east wing of the White House. John, just hold on one second. We're going to take a message from our sponsors.

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[Joanna Coles]

And we're back with John Della Volpe. From the Harvard Institute of Politics.

[John Della Volpe]

I think that's just the latest in a string of what they see as distractions from President Trump doing what he promised younger people to do, right. Which is to improve the economy so they themselves could be better providers for themselves and the people that they care about. And they gave him some slack. We talked, you know, last time we were on the pod together, we talked about the slack that younger people were giving him, giving him some time, give him, you know, some opportunity to get his team in place, to see the effect of the tariffs, etc. But I think that time for many young people is kind of running out for him. You know, he needs to begin to deliver on the core promise. And when you have only 31% of younger men, 31% of younger men saying he's making their life better, I can't think of a worse number for him right now. I can't think of a worse number for him right now. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean, though that the 69%, okay, who think that there's been no impact or it's negative are voting for Democrats. Okay. That's the different dynamic in this cycle compared to his first term. I think, you know, at this point in 2017, that's a different dynamic. And Democrats cannot make the mistake that just because they disapprove, just because they think Trump is actually hurting them financially, that they're going to, you know, end up voting in large numbers for Democrats outside of New York City, you know. You know, in a week or so from now. I don't see that happening at this moment.

[Joanna Coles]

Are they impacted at all or are you getting feedback from them on the government shutdown? We're one month in now and it feels like the most under talked about government shutdown, certainly in living memory.

[John Della Volpe]

Yeah, I mean, I just think there's exhaustion. You know, I, I was on the road doing focus groups in the earliest days of that shutdown. It was just exhaustion and that both. There wasn't like a big surprise that they blame essentially both parties and the system for doing this. I don't think it's a subject, I don't think it came up over the weekend during my focus groups. It's not a subject that I'm picking up or hearing from the rank and file people that I talked to at this point. If anything, it drives people to the anti establishment pathway of trying to make change. I don't think they see at this point the folks I'm talking about. I'm sure we can find a Poll that shows Democrats are winning, other Republicans are winning. I don't think that matters. I think that the shutdown is doing grave damage to further damage to institutions, Congress, Washington politics, government. That's the real damage, and it's driving people outside of the system. And that's something that I'm not sure either leader of both parties really fully appreciates.

[Joanna Coles]

So you're hearing negatives on Donald Trump, but you're not hearing much positive about the Democrats. If you were advising the Democrats, what would you suggest they do to counteract this?

[John Della Volpe]

Well, I think what you said, Joanna, was an understatement when you said you're not hearing much positive about Democrats. You know, so one of my. One of my favorite questions to ask in focus groups was if the parties were people, who would they be? Okay. What would they look like? Okay. If they showed up in a bar? If they showed up, you know, in whatever.

[Joanna Coles]

Interesting question. I wish I'd met you when I was at college because I would love to have been involved in something like this.

[John Della Volpe]

This was a young man said this just a couple days ago. He said, without hesitation, he said, democrat is the HR department.

[Small Business Owner (Samantha/Mia)]

Department.

[John Della Volpe]

It's the human resource department. Okay. They act like they really care about you, but they actually work for the man. They actually work for the company. Okay. Like, think about that. Right. Who wants to be visited by the HR department? Okay. It's never good news. Right. If you're going to get a raise or a promotion, the boss is going to come in, not the HR department. Right. The HR department is going to likely kind of grind you down with. With. With policy or. Or telling you something that needs to be changed, needs to be adapted to. Not a conversation you really ever want to have or a person to necessarily be around. And no offense to any of the great HR people out there, but that's the vibe that younger people are feeling about the Democratic Party right now.

[Joanna Coles]

I know I was feeling slightly defensive about our HR person who is a great contributor to the Daily Beast. I would say, Lisa Marie, if you're listening to this, I'm giving you a shout out. But it was one of the criticisms of Kamala Harris, right. That she appeared to be a scold and that you're always nervous when the HR department shows up that you've inadvertently offended somebody by saying something that you hadn't thought twice about. And that, I think, is what the Democrats have been wrestling with a bit. This sense that we are all on the edge of offending someone else and being told off for it.

[John Della Volpe]

Exactly. And then the other piece, okay, is we heard this about both Democrats and Republicans, that if they walked into a room, they would actually be wearing one of those NASCAR type, you know, sweaters, right? Or, you know, or uniforms where you have the corporate logos, okay, you know, affixed to every part of your jacket or your sweater or your shirt, representing all the people who own a piece of you, okay? And that exact metaphor was used for both the Democrats as well as the Republicans. So there's just not a lot of distance, I think in terms of, quote, the oligarchy. Younger people are seeing both parties writ large, driven by that. And what I think a lot of folks don't perhaps appreciate is younger people. That's the reaction you need to kind of break that image of Democrats if you're going to have a meaningful conversation about what the future looks like. This is a party, this is a group of voters, I think, who are more rational, more pragmatic perhaps than we might appreciate and therefore, I think are searching for much more for anti establishment than any necessary ideological purity. There are going to be a number of people who voted for Donald Trump and also for Zoan Mondami as an example in New York City. Okay, who went? Sanders, Trump, Mondami. Right. That's not about ideology, it's about are you fighting the system or you're part of the system.

[Joanna Coles]

And it's also about charismatic leadership, that all three men are apparently fearless and apparently say what they believe as opposed to parroting a sort of thought out policy put together by committee. There's one person that we know does concern Donald Trump and certainly undermines him, and that's Jeffrey Epstein. The specter of Jeffrey Epstein from beyond the grave at one point his best friend before they had a falling out. Does his name ever come up when you're talking to young people?

[John Della Volpe]

It did. It came up over this weekend. We did focus group this past weekend and it was from that Trump mom, dummy, you know, person. And again, it's, you know, basically two promises that this young man remembered, right? One is you're going to kind of give me a fighting chance, right, to, to, to live my best life. And, you know, are you going to release the Epstein files? Literally, that is what he said, those, those two things. So that was one of the very first times, honestly, of the, you know, probably 50 focus groups I've done that. His name came up organically, but, but it did come up and it came up within this like anti establishment. Maybe he's not what exactly he promised to be. Listen, I think that Trump and the Republicans obviously, and Kirk all kind of connected to helping elect him to the White House. And as much work I think Democrats have to do. But Republicans aren't shaking ground with young people, with younger men. And what, what we all need to appreciate is the voters in 2028. Many of the voters in 2026 weren't part of the 24 election. Those voters came of age during the Biden term. Okay? The post Covid effect, isolation, loneliness, inflation, a feeling of America was weaker, not.

[Joanna Coles]

Stronger, and government overreach, insisting that kids wore masks to schools, insisting on everybody staying at home, when clearly it was having a terrible impact on mental health and the economy.

[John Della Volpe]

100%. Okay? So that was what younger men and many younger women brought into the electorate. And that's a lot of how they made their decisions based upon that reaction. Well, today's high school students, young college students, young people in the workforce, okay? They're making their kind of political identity is being delivered, is being, is being developed, okay, through the first year of the Trump 2.0 term. Okay? Mostly all of it is negative, as I shared about those numbers. Okay, so that is going to be the vibe that they're taking in 26 and in 28, in terms of he's not delivering what he said. There's more chaos, there's less safety, there's more economic concern. Right. What is he doing about that? So he can't count on that. There was a significant backlash in the 2018 midterms. There could be a significant backlash again in 26, but only if Democrats take the page of what Kirk did, organizing and what Mamdami and others are doing, listening, and really begin to make meaningful connections beyond just those algorithmic data feeds that they seem to be using at the expense of actual truly listening.

[Joanna Coles]

That's so interesting. I was going to ask you about algorithms and social media and to what extent does it ever come up that the Chinese own TikTok, which is one of them most powerful drivers of political discussion in the United States? Is this something that any of the people you've talked to show concern about? Do they show an understanding that everything you see on social media isn't necessarily true?

[John Della Volpe]

They're deeply concerned about that. I don't know. I mean, we've asked some questions. The role of China's own ownership honestly hasn't kind of come up recently. But what does come up is almost, almost by default is younger people, specifically younger men, saying like, we don't want to see this right where we're fed this, this, you know, often kind of far right misogynistic violence content that we don't want to be a part of. But they get it anyway. Right? That's what we're hearing. And again, they're blaming kind of the establishment. Right. Younger men, younger people want far more government oversight here. Right. But they again, kind of believe that it's those corporate patches. Right. That Democrats, Republicans are wearing. Okay. Representing by big tech and Silicon Valley. And they know that is harming them through their mental health and ultimately through their physical health. And that's why we talked, you know, just a couple of minutes ago, that they're trying to find anything they can do to unplug, whether it's showing up in a couple of hours of focus groups where we can't use your phone or showing up to worship or service or something like that. Right. So I think kind of younger people are more aware than anyone else of the content that they're seeing. And they're essentially asking institutions to help them help themselves. But again, just another indication of government failing to deliver something that they're asking for.

[Joanna Coles]

So they think both political parties are corrupt and they're looking for leaders who appear to be free of the ribbons of corruption that tie them to the big parties, which Bernie certainly does, does seem to be. And aoc and indeed Mamdani. John, we're just going to take an ad break, take control of the numbers and supercharge your small business with Xero.

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[Joanna Coles]

And we're back with John Della Volpe talking about how young men feel about modern America.

[John Della Volpe]

That's right. I think the biggest divide in this country today, Joanna, is the divide between, between people who feel heard versus people who feel unheard. And the most successful politicians are going to be the ones from either party who let people feel Heard. That's a lesson I've taken from the last years of my research.

[Joanna Coles]

Well, as the mother of two sons, I find it astonishing the idea that young men don't think they're heard because their voices are very loud most of the time. Do you have a pre prediction for what are the polls telling you about what's going to happen in New York and Virginia and New Jersey?

[John Della Volpe]

Yeah, well, all the polls are saying that Mamdani has a strong double digit lead. He's leading across every major demographic group that we can see. And in Virginia it was expected for quite a while. That's a state that tends to flip. That Spamberger would win is a question of by how much. Most of the polling now is showing a double digit lead and win as possible with I think a more narrow potential victory in New Jersey. But that trifecta next week could really begin to change a dynamic. And I think if younger people and also other Democrats and progressives some whole moving into 26.

[Joanna Coles]

Okay, well it's good to know that young men care about the demolition of the east wing too, traditionally the home of the First Lady. I'd love to have you back to talk further about Turning Point USA and how you replace someone like Charlie Kirk. I understand Erica's gone in there, but one of the points of charismatic leadership is that sense that they're incredibly hard to follow and that often what they do is tear down the institutions that people are used to, but you can't replace them once they've gone. You just inherit the chaos. So I'm very curious to see what happens at Turning Point and whether or not it continues its impact on young men. John, thank you so much for coming on and telling us yet again that young men must be heard and are feeling unheard of. What are you up to next?

[John Della Volpe]

Well, we are watching obviously the early voting in as many states as we can. And I have my 51st Harvard Poll in the field now. I'm so excited about that. And we'll be reporting that right after Thanksgiving time. So look for that soon.

[Joanna Coles]

Okay, and let me ask you one final question then. Do polls still have a role in the world of Polymarket?

[John Della Volpe]

I think they are driving polling market actually. And I think that unfortunately this is maybe for the next pod. I think, Joanna, I think they have too much of a role in terms of shaping the conversation. We should be looking at the top line numbers. But it's the conversations like the ones that we've had, right? The qualitative research that gives voice and humanity to the polling and the polling market. That I think is what we we need to be spending more time on, not whatever the chances are of some person winning or losing. That is where I think polling oftentimes is misused.

[Joanna Coles]

Okay, so you're off to do more polling, talk to more people, hear more young men. I'm sure they will be thrilled. We will look forward to seeing you after Thanksgiving.

[John Della Volpe]

See you soon. Thanks.

[Joanna Coles]

So there you have it from John Della Volpe. Real insights into how alienated young male voters in particular feel from the institutions of America that are supposed to make them feel tucked in and protected and that they have a big future in America. Always fascinating. And as the mother of two sons, as I said to John, I find it extraordinary that young men don't find themselves heard because they are so noisy and yet clearly they do feel alienated and it's something both parties need to take heed of. We'll be back with John after Thanksgiving with his latest insights. If you have been thank you for joining us. Don't forget to subscribe to the Daily Beast. Please subscribe to this podcast. Leave us a review if you're on Apple and Spotify. Leave us a comment if you're on YouTube and join the Daily Beast community. It's super fun. You get extra op ed videos, you get extra content and you get access to me and other members of the Daily Beast staff and even Michael Wolff. And don't forget, if you're up for coming to see Michael Wolfe and me live, we'll be at the City Museum of New York next week. Actually next Wednesday, November 5th from 6:30 to 8. Bring questions, bring your friends, Come for a night out. It'll be the night of after the New York mayoral election, so there'll be some insights there. But Michael, of course, will be digging inside Trump's head and bringing you the latest of everything he's hearing from deep within the White House. If you haven't been this week, it's time. Bee Beast and a shout out to our top tier Beebeast members, Karen White, Heidi Riley, Connie Rutherford, Sharon Shipley, Andrea Hodel and Free dc. And thank you to our production team, Devon Rogerino, Anna Von Erssen and our editor Jesse Millwood.

[John Della Volpe]

Want more great listens? Check out our comedy podcast the Last Laugh and our Star Studded the Daily beast [e-mail] podcasts.

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