CNN talking head Dana Bash acknowledges DNC's appeal to men with testosterone deficits

CNN host Dana Bash suggested this week that this year's Democratic National Convention was strategically geared toward men with testosterone deficits, particularly those averse to type A male personalities and machismo displays.

Jake Tapper told fellow CNN talking heads Bash and Abby Phillip Wednesday that whereas women "overwhelmingly" support Harris, men tend to support former President Donald Trump.

An Economist/YouGov poll released this week revealed that 51% of women who are registered voters indicated they support Harris; 38% said they supported Trump. Alternatively, 49% of male respondents said they intend to vote for Trump, and 42% said they were going to vote for Harris.

"There's the gender gap. Then there's the idea that for the last month, the Democratic Party has been rallying around a woman at the top of the ticket," said Bash. "Which is — the only other time they did it, which is in 2016. And it has been noteworthy to see how they are learning about what to do and how to confront Donald Trump as the opponent to a woman. 2016 and now — very different campaigns, very different female candidates."

According to Bash, this time around, Democrats are attempting to appeal to more effeminate men.

'There is a contrast that is going to be on display tonight, here.'

"They are doing so in trying to put forward male figures, Tim Walz being one of them, Doug Emhoff last night, who can speak to men out there who might not be the sort of testosterone-laden, you know, gun-toting kind of guy who wants to listen to Hulk Hogan and the kind of players that came out at the RNC or might want to listen to that," said Bash. "But also, in addition, understand that it's okay in 2024 to be a man comfortable in his own skin who supports a woman."

"That's something that they really are trying to work on with male voters beyond the base," added Bash.

After the allusion to low-testosterone men, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff — who recently admitted having an affair during his first marriage — Jake Tapper referenced a previous conversation about "different definitions of masculinity in 2024" and suggested the Republican National Convention had alternatively been "testosterone-y," citing speeches from UFC CEO Dana White, Kid Rock, and Hulk Hogan as examples.

After expressing dissatisfaction with Hulk Hogan's recent joke about body-slamming Kamala Harris, Abby Phillip said, "When we talk about the kind of testosterone that they put on display at the RNC, that's what it was. There is a contrast that is going to be on display tonight, here. There are going to be people associated with Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign — the LGBTQ+ organization."

"They are going to be putting those people on the stage to talk about a different version of America," continued Phillip. "But for Democrats, it's always this balancing act between feeding the need for their base, to hear these messages of affirmation about a sort of rainbow coalition, if you will, of their party. But they do also have to talk to the people, who maybe they're not comfortable with the Hulk Hogans, but they do want the party to speak to them right now."

'You have a lot of younger men admiring the strength of Trump.'

While Democrats are allegedly striving to appeal to those men who feel uncomfortable "with the Hulk Hogans," young American men are increasingly turning conservative and orienting toward strength contra cosmopolitan values.

The Guardian recently noted that whereas in 2016, 51% of young men identified or leaned toward the Democratic Party, that number dropped last year to 39%. In the months since, young men have begun to favor Republican control of Congress and have taken even more of a shine to Trump.

"This idea of America needing someone who is a strong masculine figure — I think the Republican campaign this year is doing it even in a more pronounced and overt way than it did in 2016," Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, told the Guardian. "You have a lot of younger men admiring the strength of Trump — or what they think is strong."

Deckman indicated that in 2022, 49% of Gen Z men said that the U.S. had become "too soft and feminine." Last year, she said that 60% of the cohort said the same.

'The message is too feminine: 'Everything you're doing is destroying the planet.'

There are some inside the Democratic Party who have raised the alarm about the apparent feminization project under way, including Democratic strategist James Carville.

"If you listen to Democratic elites — NPR is my go-to place for that — the whole talk is about how women, and women of color, are going to decide this election," Carville told the New York Times earlier this year. "I'm like: 'Well, 48 percent of the people that vote are males. Do you mind if they have some consideration?'"

Carville zeroed in on one possible reason Harris' predecessor was shedding support among minority voters and potentially alienating men: "A suspicion of mine is that there are too many preachy females."

Citing research by the Young Men Research Initiative, the Guardian noted that Harris is unlikely to perform better with young male voters than Biden.

"'Don't drink beer. Don't watch football. Don't eat hamburgers. This is not good for you,'" continued Carville. "The message is too feminine: 'Everything you're doing is destroying the planet. You've got to eat your peas.'"

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!