Some 'Manosphere' Podcasters Who Backed Trump Are Turning From Him

Summary

The NPR Politics Podcast: "Some 'Manosphere' Podcasters Who Backed Trump Are Turning From Him"

Release Date: August 5, 2025
Hosts: Ashley Lopez, Elena Moore, Domenico Montanaro

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Introduction to the Manosphere and Its Influence

In this episode, Ashley Lopez, Elena Moore, and Domenico Montanaro delve into the intricate relationship between the manosphere—a collective of media content aimed primarily at younger men—and former President Donald Trump. The manosphere, characterized by its blend of comedy, talk shows, and long-form conversations, has played a significant role in shaping political sentiments among its predominantly young and male audience.

Elena Moore explains the nature of these podcasts:

"These aren't like political shows. These are most commonly seen as comedy shows, talk shows... long-form multi-hour conversations where people kind of just chill and talk about whatever is on their mind." ([02:00])

Domenico Montanaro adds insight into the political influence of these apolitical platforms:

"They had a considerable influence, even though they're mostly nonpartisan shows... The Trump campaign recognized their broad appeal to a certain demographic, especially young men... Democrats largely ignored it to their peril." ([04:17])

Audience Demographics and Political Segmentation

The hosts discuss audience metrics, highlighting that the listeners of these podcasts are ideologically split—approximately one-third independent, one-third Republican, and one-third Democrat. Despite the Republican tilt, the audience is not exclusively MAGA supporters. Instead, it consists of younger men who feel disenfranchised by traditional political parties.

Elena Moore emphasizes the audience's unique position:

"They have really different political backgrounds, and they're all kind of coalescing in this one community." ([04:04])

Trump's Engagement with the Manosphere

During the 2024 election, Trump's strategy involved appearing on these manosphere podcasts to tap into their influence and win over new voters. The hosts note that Trump's alignment with the manosphere was part of recognizing and leveraging the anti-establishment sentiments prevalent among the audience.

Domenico Montanaro discusses Trump's campaign strategy:

"The Trump campaign felt like they could mine the way they felt about what the lifestyles were, what the freedoms were that these young men wanted out of life and what the culture should be." ([06:37])

Shifting Allegiances: Podcasters Turning Away from Trump

Post-election, some podcasters who previously supported Trump are expressing disappointment with his administration. Their frustrations stem from unmet promises and perceived inaction on issues like the Jeffrey Epstein case and immigration policies.

Elena Moore observes the change in sentiment:

"They're expressing that disappointment in the Trump administration after rallying behind them." ([11:01])

Domenico Montanaro highlights the underlying causes:

"People are cynical because you had all this hope for change, and then you realize, like, oh, the same people that are pulling the strings are still pulling the strings." ([12:18])

Impact on the Republican Party and Future Elections

The disillusionment among manosphere podcasters poses potential challenges for the Republican Party, especially in engaging young male voters who already exhibit lower voting propensities. The hosts speculate that this shift could affect Republican enthusiasm and voter turnout in upcoming elections.

Domenico Montanaro warns of future implications:

"Getting them out in a midterm election, when your guy isn't on the ballot and you're already sort of having lukewarm feelings about that guy, that spells some real potential problems for the Republican Party in 2026." ([14:10])

Democratic Response and Rethinking Strategy

Recognizing the influence of the manosphere, some Democrats are beginning to engage with these platforms to counteract Republican efforts and appeal to younger, disaffected voters. High-profile Democrats like Pete Buttigieg have appeared on manosphere podcasts to present their viewpoints and connect with the audience on shared concerns.

Elena Moore cites an example of Democratic engagement:

"Former Transportation Secretary, Democrat Pete Buttigieg, went on Andrew Schultz's flagrant and... explained why government funding is important." ([08:08])

Conclusion: The Evolving Political Landscape

The episode concludes with a reflection on the evolving dynamics between political parties and the manosphere. As former Trump supporters within this community begin to distance themselves, both Republicans and Democrats must adapt their strategies to engage effectively with this influential yet volatile demographic.

Ashley Lopez summarizes the situation:

"We're going to take a quick break. More in a moment." ([09:23])

While this statement is part of the podcast's transitional dialogue, it underscores the ongoing nature of the discussion and the need for continuous analysis of these shifting political allegiances.

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Key Takeaways

• Manosphere Definition: A collection of predominantly male, young audiences engaging with apolitical but influential podcasts that occasionally intersect with political discourse.

• Political Influence: Despite their nonpartisan nature, these podcasts significantly impact political sentiments, especially among young men who feel disenfranchised.

• Shifting Support: Some podcasters previously backing Trump are now critical of his administration, citing unmet promises and ongoing systemic issues.

• Implications for GOP: Disillusionment within the manosphere may challenge Republican efforts to mobilize young male voters in future elections.

• Democratic Strategy Shift: Democrats are beginning to recognize the importance of engaging with manosphere platforms to reach and appeal to a broader, younger audience.

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Notable Quotes:

• Elena Moore ([02:00]): "These aren't like political shows. These are most commonly seen as comedy shows, talk shows... long-form multi-hour conversations where people kind of just chill and talk about whatever is on their mind."

• Domenico Montanaro ([04:17]): "They had a considerable influence, even though they're mostly nonpartisan shows... The Trump campaign recognized their broad appeal to a certain demographic, especially young men... Democrats largely ignored it to their peril."

• Domenico Montanaro ([06:37]): "The Trump campaign felt like they could mine the way they felt about what the lifestyles were, what the freedoms were that these young men wanted out of life and what the culture should be."

• Elena Moore ([11:01]): "They're expressing that disappointment in the Trump administration after rallying behind them."

• Domenico Montanaro ([12:18]): "People are cynical because you had all this hope for change, and then you realize, like, oh, the same people that are pulling the strings are still pulling the strings."

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the NPR Politics Podcast episode, providing insights into the influence of the manosphere, shifting political allegiances, and the broader implications for future elections.

Transcript

[Amy Bellinger]

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[Domenico Montanaro]

Bellinger from Bloomington, Indiana. I've just completed my last day on the job ever. This podcast was recorded at 1:07pm Eastern.

[Ashley Lopez]

Time on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Things may have changed since then, but you know what? I'm doing nothing, not doing anything.

[Ashley Lopez]

I could not be more jealous, my friend.

[Elena Moore]

That's so fun.

[Domenico Montanaro]

That's really great. My dad had a really hard time retiring. It took about a year and a half before he like, I think found a new vibe.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah, I think people need to prepare for retirement and start being lazy now.

[Elena Moore]

Yes. You know, just do less, everyone.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah. Hey there. It's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Ashley Lopez. I cover politics.

[Elena Moore]

I'm Elena Moore. I also cover politics.

[Domenico Montanaro]

And I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent.

[Ashley Lopez]

And today on the show we're talking about the so called manosphere. That's the term given to an ecosystem of media content tailored toward younger men. Then candidate Donald Trump went on a number of podcasts in the manosphere during his 2024 election bid with the hope of winning new voters. But, but now that Trump is back in office, some of those podcast hosts who supported Trump during the campaign are changing their tunes. Elena, if I'm listening to one of these podcasts, like who am I listening to? What kinds of things are these folks talking about?

[Elena Moore]

Yeah. So we should say these aren't like political shows. These are most, you know, commonly seen as a comedy show, a talk show. They're these long form multi hour conversations where people kind of just chill and talk about whatever is on their mind. And so the most famous, probably the most famous and the OG is Joe Rogan's show, the podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience. And then, you know, there have been other shows that take on similar format and have gotten really popular in the last few years. That's like this past weekend with the O Vaughn, a comedian, and Andrew Schultz's flagrant podcast. These are also comedians.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah. And who's listening to these shows? Like, what's their audience look Like, Right.

[Elena Moore]

So that's why we are talking about them. They're not political shows, but as political Strategist told me recently, they kind of bump into politics in the same way when you're at a dinner party or at a bar and things naturally come up. And so that's why we're looking at it, because it's an audience that is not necessarily one that you would think of as a political wonky audience, but they're voting potentially, and they have really different political backgrounds, and they're all kind of coalescing in this one community. So let me step back. In recent Edison Metrics numbers, we saw that all three of these shows have audiences that are pretty ideologically split, you know, around a third, a third, a third independent, Republican, Democrat, some shows, slightly more Republican, slightly more independent. But it's not a, you know, a MAGA audience, so to speak. Even though we saw President Trump go on these shows last fall, and these men endorse him ultimately and support him, and in a really natural way of them just talking about feeling put, pushed away from the party, the Democratic Party, that some of them had talked about aligning with previously or supporting some candidates that were Democrats and kind of jumping on the Trump train. So seeing those audience metrics are really interesting because on top of the political breakdown, they skew heavily young and they skew heavily male. So it's a very specific group.

[Ashley Lopez]

And Domenico, I wonder, like, what kind of political influence a podcast would have that doesn't really have an ideological bent. It's sort of apolitical. I mean, do we have a sense of how, like, Theo Von and all these other podcasts influenced the last election?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Politically? They had a considerable influence, even though they're mostly nonpartisan shows. You know, in theory, in practice, they've had some real political influence. And that's because the Trump campaign recognized their broad appeal to a certain demographic, especially young men, as you noted, who are sort of cynical about politics. They don't believe that politics is the art of the possible. They sort of just make fun of politics, and they see it as, you know, both sides being the problem and, you know, how they're not looking out for whoever. Right. And the Trump campaign recognized this. They decided to get in those spaces, and Democrats largely ignored it to their peril.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah, And I wonder, like, if you're apolitical, like, this is not the kind of voter that you're gonna find at rallies either. These are, like, particularly hard voters to read.

[Elena Moore]

Oh, yeah. This is, like, such a specific audience that us as Reporters either in the field like you said, or just trying to call people up for polls or talk to stories they don't wanna engage in the same way that we would see other groups might wanna engage. It's a completely different group that really doesn't have trust in some of the institutions that Trump ran to kind of fight against in some ways.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Look, and even though I think we should back up a second and understand that a lot of the people who are hosts of these podcasts, they gained a lot of attention during the COVID pandemic because a lot of them were skeptical of vaccines, skeptical of expertise. And I think that's where the Trump campaign felt they had an opening them to be able to say, look, this is a group of people who might be convincable to come over to our side and vote for us because you know, we line up with a lot of what they're talking about when it comes to post Covid freedoms and things like that. You know, sometimes regardless of the facts, which we've seen in a lot of examples in a lot of places, but a very strong anti expertise strain that runs through these podcasts where they just are simply saying, look, I do my own research, I hear this thing from these other people, I know what I've heard from others. And it's kind of a lifestyle brand, It's a lifestyle thing. It's not really aimed at politics. But the Trump campaign felt like they could mine the way they felt about what the lifestyles were, what the freedoms were that these young men wanted out of life and what the culture should be.

[Elena Moore]

And we should say that where we saw a lot of those, you could say conspiracy theories really flourish was on Joe Rogan's podcast. He was, he's been known for this for a really long time. That's not like a new trend for him. He's always been kind of questioning the norm in a counterculture type way. But yeah, I agree with you, Demeter, and I also think like it's an audience that's very curious and I think that's the thing that Republicans kind of capitalized on and now we're seeing some Democrats kind of enter this space too of it's an audience that wants to know more and we're hearing that from these hosts who are bringing on politicians.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah.

[Ashley Lopez]

And I do wonder if all of the vaccine hesitancy and all the sort of misinformation that was like around I do wonder if that's maybe why Democrats didn't go on these shows and maybe whether they're rethinking that now?

[Domenico Montanaro]

You know, I think some Democrats are rethinking it. I do think that that a reason why a lot of Democrats didn't go on the shows. And we saw that there was a huge sort of degree to which arguably some Democrats, many Democrats are painting themselves into a corner to say that's not the kind of people we wanna be catering to or trying to win over because they're not winnable. Right. And I think there's a lot of Democrats now who think that was a humongous mistake that you need to be in the places where people are. Because we're in such an a la carte media climate that if you're saying something and you're getting through one media strain, if the people that you need to vote for you aren't there in that stream listening to that, then you're not gonna be able to win them over. Cause they don't hear your argument.

[Elena Moore]

That's a good point, Domenico. Cause also I think it wasn't just Republicans capitalizing on some of these threads of anti establishment and wanting to talk to young people cause of that. But a lot of young men have reported feeling like the Democratic Party didn't understand them or didn't see them, didn't wanna talk to them or appeal to them. And I think now we're seeing politicians, you know, on the Democratic side go on some of these shows and really make an effort to explain their point of view and kind of cut past some of the narratives that the right has laid out and talk about stuff that they actually might agree with them on. And an example was recently the former Transportation Secretary, Democrat Pete Buttigieg, went on Andrew Schultz's flagrant and he gave them this example about like why government funding is important and you know, the reason that the government funds research. And he gave the example of the Internet, which was partially, you know, came to be because of government funding. So here's the reaction that Schultz gave.

[Domenico Montanaro]

This is the whole idea of public goods. Sure. Why we have governments, why we collect taxes. God, we're turning to such libs already, dude.

[Elena Moore]

So yeah, you hear they're like, this is an audience that obviously like, they have a lot of like jokes about politics and a lot of skepticism. But they like want to hear what people are saying. They're curious.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yes. And they're also malleable, it sounds like. Yeah. We're going to take a quick break. More in a moment.

[Marielle Segarra]

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[Planet Money Host]

This summer on Planet Money Summer School, we're learning about political economy. We're getting into the nitty gritty of what government does with things like trade, taxes, immigration and healthcare.

[Domenico Montanaro]

So politics and economics, which are taught separately, they shouldn't be separated at all. I think you have to understand one to really appreciate the other.

[Planet Money Host]

So what is the right amount of government in our lives? Tune into Planet Money Summer School from npr, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashley Lopez]

And we're back. And not all of the prominent podcasters who backed Trump in 2024 are still supporting him now. Elena, what are you hearing from folks about how they're like folks in the manosphere, about how they see Trump now?

[Elena Moore]

Yeah, I don't think they're necessarily not supporting him, but I think it gets back to that thread we've seen them talk about for years, which is everything's corrupt, everyone's bad, which is a change because like we said, Trump ran as being anti establishment, different from that. But he's the president, he's a second term president. So he's kind of part of the establishment. A big example of where that's kind of festered recently is over Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, disgraced financier. There have been conspiracy theories for years around Epstein that's really taken off, especially in this space. And there were prominent Trump officials before they were Trump officials who talked about this a lot and amplified it. And it's been a really interesting thing to watch in these spaces because a lot of these podcasters have been, in their words, kind of disappointed and frustrated that the administration hasn't kind of made good on what they say they were going to do, expose some of, you know, the government red tape around this issue, release what they saw as these documents containing a client list of this network that Epstein allegedly had and it's really striking to me to see them kind of express that disappointment in the Trump administration after rallying behind them. I mean, listen to Joe Rogan a few weeks ago on his podcast.

[Domenico Montanaro]

People are cynical because you had all this hope for change, and then you realize, like, oh, the same people that are pulling the strings are still pulling the strings.

[Elena Moore]

And like, Trump capitalized on that resentment in last year, especially with young men who didn't feel seen, who felt like the party was out to get them, the Democratic Party, the government. And, you know, there's some initial polling from this Democratic leaning firm, social sphere. They do a Gen Z tracker monthly about Epstein and how it's resonating with young men. It found that, you know, for a young man who listens to Joe Rogan, they're more likely to be resonating with this Epstein issue.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, I have to say it's not just about Epstein, though. I mean, a week ago, for example, you had Joe Rogan talking about immigration and saying how he felt that it was crazy that the administration was cracking down on college students, for example. And one of the things that he noted was that deporting people because you don't like who they're criticizing, he said, that gets kind of shifty. And I think that that's something that in this universe, right, it's almost a. It's not quite libertarian, but there's a libertarian adjacent sort of sensibility about freedom, freedom of speech and all of that. And, you know, he feels like it's been an overcorrect on immigration. So you have a few cracks obviously, emerging here. And I think it's really important because if this was a group that helped Trump sort of get those persuadable voters on board or bring out people who didn't vote, don't vote normally. They are this group of people. You know, younger men are one of the lower propensity voting groups. And we know that in midterm elections, for example, lower propensity voters are the lowest propensity voters. So getting them out in a midterm election, when your guy isn't on the ballot and you're already sort of having lukewarm feelings about that guy, that spells some real potential problems for the Republican Party in 2026.

[Elena Moore]

It's also not just Rogan. I mean, he's one of the biggest voices here, but even Andrew Schultz, again, who has talked about, you know, kind of moving more right ahead of of November last year, he's been angry about Epstein. He did a whole podcast a few weeks ago, focused on this issue. But it's not just that. I mean, he also has been really frustrated around something I've heard from a lot of younger folks over the years covering this demographic. But he's talked about being frustrated by the US Response to the Israel Hamas war and the destruction in Gaza. Listen to this clip from a recent podcast episode talking about, just like, reflecting on all of these issues.

[Domenico Montanaro]

If I wanted to vote for somebody that was gonna keep the Epstein files under wrap, that was gonna extend the foreign wars and was gonna increase the budget, I would've voted for Kamala.

[Elena Moore]

I don't think we can say they're necessarily not gonna support Trump anymore, but there's, you know, cracks in that support. And I think that telling thing for a group that maybe doesn't have as much political history.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah. And I wonder how much trouble this spells for the gop. Like, is this disillusionment with Trump just Trump, or does this go to conservative politics more broadly? Do we have a sense of that yet?

[Elena Moore]

Well, a lot of the criticism has not been Trump focused, which I think is really interesting, is a lot of it has been, oh, these officials are, you know, are going back on their word, or is, you know, a lot of criticism towards Israel around the war. And there are occasional. Definitely some swipes at Trump of, oh, he ran on doing X, Y and Z, ending the wars, releasing the Epstein files, and stuff like that. But I think, yeah, there's still definitely a bit of a blame game here. And Trump is in his own category, which lends the question exactly. Like, when you have different candidates on the ballot, do they get the same level of grace?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Politics is about making the argument and who can make the argument and win the argument. I think there was a big criticism of the Biden administration and of Joe Biden himself that he was never somebody who was able to. To do that, to be able to get out there, make an argument, win the argument. Barack Obama was able to do that. That's why he will go down as one of the best campaigners of all time, because he's able to make those kind of common sense arguments go anywhere. I mean, I remember during the 2008 Republican National Convention, for example, where was Barack Obama? During a prominent period in the RNC, he was on Fox News talking to Bill O'Reilly. And now there's been this kind of movement against Democrats going. And. And I think there's a rethinking of that among some Democrats about being able to do it. But to do it, you have to do It. Well, because these folks are articulate. They may not always have the full facts at their disposal, but what they do have is conviction. And when they say things with conviction, you have to be able to come back at them being able to say something that's backed up by facts and research. And that's why you've seen people like Pete Buttigieg, who's probably one of the best Democratic messengers, and someone like Gavin Newsom, the California governor who's out there trying to do the same thing, even starting his own podcast, even though that's probably not something that's easily replicable of something like Joe Rogan. Cause he's native to the podcast platform and is already somebody who has trust within that group of people. But that's where the arguments are gonna be able to be won, is having people go in and be able to do that with these folks. There are still some people on the left who think that it's a wasted effort.

[Ashley Lopez]

I mean, but do we think that the political power that these podcasts in the quote, unquote manosphere had during the 2024 election will persist through a midterm, like, you know, next year? Do we think that these shows are gonna be as important moving forward?

[Elena Moore]

I feel like midterms are already hard to rally voters, let alone young voters who are historically lower turnout voters, let alone maybe someone who may feel politically disaffected. And that's when I think some of these issues, though we're a year out, could have some weight. Because I talked to one Republican strategist who, you know, he was hesitant to say there was any real tangible impact Epstein could have at the ballot box, but it could affect enthusiasm. And that's kind of key for a lot of these voters. Vibes aren't votes, but if you're down on all politics again, and maybe Trump pulled you out of that for a few months last year, and then he kind of let you down. Why would you show up in November?

[Domenico Montanaro]

You know, to paraphrase our colleague Mara Liasson, it's often the incumbent versus the couch, right? And you're gonna have people, you know, when president has an approval rating that is below 50%, and we've seen that often in the last 20, 25 years, it becomes more difficult to get your base to be enthused and to show up in a midterm election. And that's why often incumbent presidents wind up having midterms that are not so great for their party, because you don't have that same level of enthusiasm. And when you're talking about this kind of group of people who don't generally show up to vote in great numbers anyway. That's something that's going to be make it more difficult for either party to win them over. I think this is really a conversation for 2028 in some respects, because when we talk about Newsom, talk about Buttigieg, you can almost guarantee that those are names you're going to hear running for president in 2028 as well.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah. All right. Well, let's leave it there for today. I'm Ashley Lopez. I cover politics.

[Elena Moore]

I'm Elena Moore. I also cover politics.

[Domenico Montanaro]

And I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent.

[Ashley Lopez]

And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.

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