What Is the “Speaking with American Men” Strategy?
The Democratic Party is launching a $20 million initiative called Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan, or SAM, to figure out how to connect with male voters, particularly younger men who turned away from the party in the 2024 election. According to The New York Times, the SAM project is aimed at “studying the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces,” especially online platforms dominated by young men.
The plan includes buying political ads in video games and trying to rework the party’s tone and messaging to appeal to what it sees as a lost audience. The goal, according to the proposal, is to avoid using a “moralizing tone” and to create content that can “gain virality” in spaces where young men spend their time.
This effort comes after a political collapse in 2024, where Donald Trump not only won back the presidency but also flipped all seven battleground states. Democrats are now admitting they have a serious image problem and hope SAM will help repair it.
The Voter Shift That Sparked Panic
In 2024, Trump made huge gains with men across racial and age groups. A Fox News Voter Survey found that Trump won 53% of male voters aged 18 to 44, compared to Kamala Harris’ 45%. The Associated Press reported that more than half of male voters under 30 chose Trump, including nearly 60% of young White men. One-third of young Black men supported Trump, and around half of young Latino men did too. Trump’s support among young Black and Latino men jumped by about 20 percentage points compared to 2020.
This shift hit the Democrats hard. As the New York Times explained, “The Democratic Party’s tarnished image could not come at a more inopportune moment.” They added that the party’s brand is “more important and influential than ever,” and is often the deciding factor in even local races.
So far, the party’s answer is a $20 million project designed to “study” men.
What Are They Saying?
Democratic officials, strategists, and donors have been meeting in luxury hotels to brainstorm how to bring working-class men back into the fold. But critics say they are going about it all wrong.
Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist, told Fox News Digital that while he supports investing in outreach, the SAM strategy is “hilarious.” He added, “We’re having an issue with the messenger more than the message.” He criticized Democrats for trying to solve their problems from “luxury hotels” instead of meeting with “day-to-day Americans.” Ceraso asked, “How do we continue to make those same choices?”
Anat Shenker-Osorio, another Democratic strategist who runs focus groups, said voters often describe Republicans as “apex predators” and Democrats as “deer in headlights.” One man in Georgia told her the Democrats just stand there and let disaster happen. She said voters are tired of politicians reflecting instead of acting. “Voters are hungry for people to actually stand up for them — or get caught trying,” she said.
Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster, warned that the party’s image is badly damaged. “We lost credibility by being seen as alien on cultural issues,” he said. McCrary lives in one of the most conservative districts in the country and says he sees every day how much of the country has turned against Democrats. He added, “A good 2026 midterm — we should not let that mask a deeper problem.”
Michael Baharaeen, chief political analyst at The Liberal Patriot, mocked the party’s approach. He reposted the quote about strategists meeting at luxury hotels to study men and wrote, “This really says it all.”
Rotimi Adeoye, a former Democratic staffer and current MSNBC contributor, was even more direct. He wrote, “Democratic donors treating men like an endangered species on a remote island they need to study probably won’t rebuild trust.” He added, “These voters aren’t a research subject. They’re citizens.”
What Republicans and Critics Are Saying
Republicans wasted no time ridiculing the SAM initiative. Representative Lisa McClain of Michigan said, “The Democrats are getting ready to light $20 million on fire to study their unpopularity.” Representative Abe Hamadeh of Arizona wrote on social media, “Democrats declared war on masculinity and lost a generation of young men.” He accused the party of refusing to self-reflect and instead wasting money to try to “better communicate their radical message.”
Conservative podcaster DeVory Darkins said the strategy is insulting. “This is the same move they pull on Black people. They don’t care about you, they only care about your vote,” he wrote.
Even some Democrats pointed to a 2024 campaign video that made things worse. The ad, created by a group called Creatives for Harris, featured men saying they were “man enough” to vote for Kamala Harris. It included lines like, “I eat carburetors for breakfast” and “I’m not afraid of bears.” The video was meant to be funny but instead was labeled “the cringiest political ad ever created” on social media. Critics also noted it was made by a former Jimmy Kimmel Live producer and used professional actors, not real voters.
A Misunderstanding of What Men Want
Many political analysts say the Democrats are missing the deeper reason why men are leaving the party. It’s not just about words or platforms. It’s about how the party treats them. Democrats seem to believe that if they can just figure out the right language or ad placement, they can win men back. But younger men are rejecting this approach because it feels fake.
Figures like Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, and Theo Von are often blamed for leading men away from the Democratic Party. But as critics have pointed out, these podcast hosts aren’t political activists. They talk about life, work, relationships, and culture. Their listeners like them for being honest, not for telling them how to vote.
In fact, Joe Rogan supported Democrats like Andrew Yang and Bernie Sanders in 2020. What he and others represent is something the Democratic Party seems to have lost: authenticity.
Democrats trying to create “their own versions” of Rogan or Fridman are seen as out-of-touch. As one writer put it, it’s like watching the real-life version of the “How do you do, fellow kids?” meme.
NP Editor: Note to Democrats. This is not about “messaging.” This is about actions and your having put the most incompetent administration in office. It is about not caring about American sovereignty, American families, American health and so much more. Your messaging right now doesn’t matter, you have to actually do something right to get more support.
