Journalist Peter Hamby told comedian Bill Maher on Friday that young men shifting their support to former President Donald Trump could critically damage Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
During the “Overtime” segment of “Real Time With Bill Maher,” Hamby noted that Harris has not improved upon President Joe Biden’s support among young men, a demographic she may need to secure an election victory. Men aged 18 to 29 support Trump over Harris by 13% in six battleground states, according to an August New York Times/Siena College poll.
“What explains Donald Trump’s appeal to young men?” Maher asked, reading a viewer question. “I saw today that the gender gap, I think, is the widest. I mean, it’s very predictable. I mean, the women are much more for Kamala, and the men are much more for Trump, generally.”
“But it’s not predictable if you look at past elections where voters under 30 — generally men and women — went for Democrats,” Hamby responded. “This is remarkable.”
Maher chimed in to clarify that Hamby was referring to voters who are “under 30.”
“Yeah, the under-30 gender gap. It’s very different than past elections. Much bigger. So in 2020, young men and young women voted for Joe Biden at roughly the same rate,” Hamby said. “Over the last four years, and now with Kamala Harris, young women are voting for Kamala Harris at that same level, if not more. Kamala Harris has barely moved the needle with young men. They have gone more toward Trump. There’s a lot of reasons for that.”
Young men who intend to vote for Trump told the NYT their primary concerns relate to the economy. Harris faced significant backlash on this key issue after recently unveiling her economic plans, which included targeting corporations for “price gouging” to lower grocery store prices.
“I think Trump has exploited culture war stuff. You know, he appears on hyper-masculine podcasts and he just seems like a fun bro. He’s not going to ban your Zyns, you know? This is a real issue for Kamala Harris, though,” Hamby continued. “Like, this could be fatal for her campaign … Democrats need to win 60% of the youth vote to win the White House.”
“Hillary came up short; Obama did it; Biden did it. Kamala Harris is right now at, like, 55% of the youth vote,” he added. “If she doesn’t get to 60, she could lose the election, and it’s because young men, Gen Z men, are breaking to Trump.”
Maher told Hamby he believes young men prefer Trump, but the comedian dismissed their electoral impact by asserting they are “going to stay home” rather than cast ballots for the former president.
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