How Trump lost the podcast bros |
Six months into Donald Trump’s second term, the “manosphere” — an ecosystem of right-leaning podcasts and YouTube shows that helped elect him — appears to be losing some of its enthusiasm for him.
Many of these hosts, who appeal to a young, male, and politically disengaged audience, now seem less excited about the administration’s actions and focus. While some remain loyal, others are more critical or have shifted away from politics entirely. This fragmentation could pose a challenge for Trump, the MAGA movement, and the Republican Party in future elections as they try to hold together the unconventional coalition of voters that helped him win reelection.
With tens of millions of listeners, these podcasts have a significant reach. They frequently top podcast charts and attract a large audience, particularly among men. Recent data shows that the share of podcast listeners who identify as Republican has been growing, and millions more Americans becoming regular podcast consumers, making these hosts’ shifts in loyalty and tone all the more important.
Trump’s loyal broadcasters
Full Send Podcast
2.2 million subscribers (8.4 million on their YouTube prank channel); pranks, pop culture, and sports; weekly
The fratty young Canadian and American men of the Full Send Podcast, Kyle Forgeard and Aaron “Steiny” Steinberg, part of the prank group called the Nelk Boys, are two of Trump’s most loyal podcasters. The Nelk group began their media and entertainment business as party-boy influencers, known as early as 2020 as “the most recognizable personalities for young people in North America,” when they gained notoriety for hosting parties during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. And they built on that brand of performative hypermasculinity, organizing “brotests” to reopen gyms, traveling across the US and essentially taking contrarianism as far as they could. One fan told the Toronto Star back in 2020 that “a large part of ‘Nelk’ is not listening” and not following rules.
That spirit brought them millions of followers, views, and financial success through partnerships, promotions, and subscriptions. And through their vlogging and prank videos, they have been able to mainstream and promote a variety of right-leaning and far-right commentators on their show, leading to accusations of “extreme misogyny” and bigotry.
Over the last few years, Forgeard and his collaborators have