‘Baffling’: Trump’s podcaster problem runs deep
The broader “manosphere,” made up of hyper-masculine content creators that range from less explicitly political bro-casters to staunchly conservative figures like Tucker Carlson, has increasingly lashed out at Trump over a range of issues from the Jeffrey Epstein files to government spending.The backlash to the Iran war represents a broader challenge for Republicans as the midterm election season heats up and Trump contends with sinking approval ratings.Trump’s team saw outreach to the “bro-style” podcasts as critical during the 2024 campaign, given the programs’ sway over their mostly young and mostly male audiences — a notoriously difficult demographic to reach.“Part of Trump’s coalition has always been isolationist and it’s no surprise that they’re not thrilled with the war,” Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and former aide to Marco Rubio’s 2016 campaign, told Semafor. “If I’m an America first voter who listens to Joe Rogan, I’m getting a lot of reasons to oppose the war every week.”The White House did not directly address the criticism from prominent podcasters when reached for comment, but insisted that Trump campaigned on denying Iran the ability to produce a nuclear weapon. “What matters most to the American people is having a Commander-in-Chief who takes decisive action to eliminate threats and keep them safe, which is exactly what President Trump did with the successful Operation Epic Fury,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.
