You’ve probably been bombarded with messages about how the Democratic Party is frantically attempting to regain young men’s support.

As a professor who teaches courses in gender and sexuality studies, I have followed this recent development with avid interest. “Speaking With American Men: A Strategic Plan” (SAM) is a $20 million plan to “study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality.”

Ilyse Hogue, the former president of the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, and John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, are leading the project, whose fundraising pitch lists former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), a one-time NFL player who lost a Senate race to Ted Cruz last year, as part of the SAM project team.

It isn’t just policy experts. Numerous governors have made such an effort a major priority. During her annual State of the State address, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced plans to help boost young men’s enrollment in higher education and skills training. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont declared what he called “a DEI initiative, which folks on both sides of the aisle may appreciate” to recruit more men into teaching. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who has spoken at length about his own challenges as a teenager, recently announced plans to direct his “entire administration” to find ways to help struggling boys and men.

“The well-being of our young men and boys has not been a societal priority,” Moore said in an interview. “I want Maryland to be the one that is aggressive and unapologetic about being able to address it and being able to fix it.”

A report released last month from the data firm Catalist revealed the Democratic Party saw a nine-point drop in support among men between the ages of 18 and 29 from 2020 and 2024, including substantial drops among young men of color. The party has been hemorrhaging support among the group, 56% of whom supported Donald Trump in 2024, according to one study.

Shauna Daly, a Democratic strategist and cofounder of the Young Men Research Project, argues candidates need to do more than show young men that they can relate.

“Where the Democratic Party has really fallen short with this cohort is that they don’t feel like Democrats are fighting for them,” she said.

Statistics reveal in every state, women surpass men in the number of college degrees earned. Boys are more likely than girls to be disciplined in class and more likely to fail to graduate high school on time. Men die by suicide at greater percentages than women and are more likely to self-medicate with illegal drugs and alcohol. And while women increasingly participate in the workforce at higher rates, men have steadily withdrawn from the labor market for quite some time.

While economic deprivation and despair have no doubt contributed to the gravitation of men toward Donald Trump, other factors are relevant as well. To a sizable percentage of men, Trump is the ultimate representation of manhood. He is ultra-wealthy, owns multiple businesses and several luxury homes and apartments, and has an attractive wife and millions of followers who practically worship him. Additionally, he possesses a brazen, unapologetic combativeness, swagger, and arrogance that a segment of men admire, yet cannot emulate without either actual or potential consequences.

There was a kernel of truth in those who argued that swaths of men viewed former Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidency negatively because she was a woman. Sexism, like racism, is a perverse vice deeply embedded in American society’s fabric, and a number of men are frantically probing the darkest corners of their personas. Nonetheless, sexism notwithstanding, the reality is that many men are likely to vote based on pocketbook issues. A lot of young people believe the American dream has become unattainable. And Democrats failed to provide any answers regarding what sort of programs or vision could aid these men in securing a higher-paying job.

Manufactured, disingenuous propaganda is unlikely to seduce younger people. This is a generation that has lived their entire lives through a screen. Condescension and insincerity will not endear them to the Democratic Party or anyone else.

This is something that Democratic strategists, policy experts, and other supposedly well-informed party honchos need to understand.

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Copyright 2025 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.