MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump got the Hulk Hogan treatment on Thursday night at a GOP nominating convention brimming with displays of masculinity.
The audience of delegates and spectators roared as Hogan, the famed wrestler, called “gladiator” Trump his hero before ripping his shirt off his chest.
Soon after, Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, introduced Trump as a “bada**” who would save the American dream.
“I’m in the tough guy business, and this man is the toughest, most resilient man I’ve met in my life,” White told the crowd moments after Kid Rock performed a heavy metal number with flames projected on the screen behind him.
The spectacle seemed tailor-made to what has become a rallying cry for Trump’s reelection campaign: His fist-pumping chants of “Fight” in the minutes after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.
But the atmosphere was also geared to America’s male working class, the “blue-collar, rough-and-tumble world” that Trump has managed to connect with despite his upbringing as a Manhattan elite.
“That’s who Trump is appealing to,” said Pete Church, a delegate from Adams County, Wisconsin. “Where I live, it’s very rural. They love him there. It makes sense to me.”
For years, Republicans have outperformed electorally with male voters. In 2020, Trump beat President Joe Biden with the demographic by 8 points.
Trump has attempted to exploit that trend to make inroads with traditionally Democratic voting blocs. He has courted rappers to serve as surrogates to his campaign in a bid to attract black men.
But the four-day convention, which culminated in Trump’s nomination speech on Thursday, also created an atmosphere that catered to male voters.
Tucker Carlson, the ex-Fox News host who once produced a documentary called “The End of Men,” was given a speaking slot. The day before, a fraternity from North Carolina was applauded for holding up the American flag at a pro-Palestinian rally.
The Republican National Committee had telegraphed the convention would have a certain macho appeal with its list of speakers, released before the festivities got underway.
But the convention programming kept piling on to that theme. On the third night, Trump greeted the audience to the tune of “It’s a Man’s World.” A speech by model, rapper, and television personality Amber Rose was followed by a hyper-masculine rap video featuring a tricked-out pickup truck.
Delegates at the convention cautioned against reading into the programming. The Republican Party, they said, was a big tent that welcomed all voters.
“There’s a broad cross-section of voters, male and female, who really embrace this working-person, fighter kind of personality,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY).
But if Trump repeats his 2016 win in November, it will be in no small part because he appealed to the segment of male voters who feel passed over and “forgotten” by politicians in Washington.
Trump, who loves the drama and showmanship of WWE, is famous for attending fighting events and has long-standing friendships with both Hogan and White.
He passed over female running mate contenders including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to choose Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), a decision Hogan compared to his tag-team with “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
“There’s no question that the Republican Party of 2024 is pandering to alpha males, whether they’re white, Hispanic, or African American,” said Dennis Lennox, a Republican strategist from Michigan. “This is like a Dave Rubin podcast. This is not your father’s Republican Party.”
Trump has attempted to attract female voters, too, as he runs for a second term in the White House. He is rejecting a national ban on abortion, in part, because it has jeopardized Republicans’ electoral prospects with suburban women.
During the convention, the programming highlighted Gold Star parents and the softer side of Vance, both of which Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said resonate with America’s women and mothers.
“I think you are seeing a broad range of speakers that appeals to everybody in America,” she said.
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Another New York Republican, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), suggested the shows of masculinity could appeal to women who care about public safety. They also offer a contrast, he said, to President Joe Biden, whose age has sparked Democratic calls for him to step aside as their presidential nominee.
“I mean, when you have a commander in chief who is mumbling and tripping over his words, tripping up staircases, looking into space, I mean, none of that portrays strength,” D’Esposito said. “And I think this gives us the opportunity to say that it’s not wrong to be strong. It is not wrong to be feared in this world.”
