Young Men Are Speaking. Can Anyone Understand What They Are Saying?

John Della Volpe's latest male Gen Z analysis and explainer is so insightful it offers no useful insight.

Young man voting

I read every one of John Della Volpe’s articles on Substack. He is one of the nation’s premier authorities on the youth electorate, the 18-29 age group. His polling and data analysis are of the highest quality and among the most reliable available in the industry today.

I cited him in my article “The Myth of the Youth Vote Saviors”, in which I argued that the trend of the youth vote away from Democrats that was apparent from 2016 to 2020 was likely to continue in 2024. His polling in Spring of 2024 portended the further swing away from the Democrats in 2024. His data is impeccable and his analysis reliable and informative.

I’m a big fan of Della Volpe and find his work very useful and insightful. Therefore, I want it to be understood that this article is not me taking a shot at Della Volpe just for trolling’s sake.

But I found his latest work, “Young Men Are Speaking. Is Anyone Listening?” to be confounding and practically useless.

One the one hand, there was a lot of useful information. The sentiments of young men were lucidly summarized. It’s just that when you add it all up, it gets us right back to where we started. Which is that young men appear to want exactly what they voted for: loud, insane, rambling bluster.

What do young men want from politics?

The piece starts off promising enough with a strong thesis:

Young men are slipping away from the Democratic Party. And if you look at the data, it’s not hard to see why.

• They don’t trust the party to fix the economy.

• They don’t feel like Democrats respect them.

• They don’t see leadership—they see hesitation.

Okay, great, I thought. So let’s dig in to why, and what the Democrats can do about this.

This is where things fell apart.

The rest of the introduction focused on a few main points about how Trump won them over.

Meanwhile, President Trump is winning their attention. Not because they love him, but because he talks about the things they care about. Jobs. Inflation. Crime. Fairness. And most of all? Strength.

But this is about more than just politics. This is about confidence.

Ask any young man, and they’ll tell you: it’s hard to feel like a man when you’re struggling just to get by.

Trump’s message is cutting through. When he says, “I’ll fix the economy, I’ll bring back jobs, I’ll make America strong again,” he’s not just talking about policy. He’s talking about manhood.

“Strength”. “Confidence”. “Feel like a man”. “Manhood.”

Hmmm. I wonder why they voted for the guy that embodies toxic masculinity, is desperate to appear strong at all costs, and is way too confident relative to his abilities and intelligence.

Then the article speaks to us in the voice of young men, kind of an AI algorithmic approach, so that we feel like we are listening to the amalgamation of the Young Man Electorate.

It makes five key points, which range from vague to outright nonsensical.

Point #1: “Talk to Us Like We Matter”

This point is about the grievances with the economy and barely getting by despite working hard. I feel for them, and for all young people trying to get by in today’s society. Life is expensive, and it’s hard to make ends meet. I can understand their frustrations. I’ve experienced them myself.

But what is it they say Democrats should do?

And while all this is happening, we don’t hear Democrats talking to us. Instead, they’re arguing about things that don’t affect our daily lives. They’re fighting battles that feel distant. They’re talking to everyone but us.

If you want us back, stop assuming we’re already on your side.

Meet us where we are—online, on the job, in our communities. Show up in ways that matter—listen, engage, and prove you care. Not just through ad campaigns. Not just through carefully crafted messaging. Show us real action.

And most importantly? Show us a plan to actually make things better.

The only candidate that had a coherent plan to help young people with housing and affordability was the Democrat. But, apparently, they thought that “drill, baby, drill” was too enticing to resist.

And how should Democrats “meet them…on the job" or “in [their] communities”? It’s an interesting concept but what exactly does it mean? And how did Republicans do this in a way that won them over? If Trump did these things, there must be some evidence, right? Unfortunately, the article provides no examples of these methods of “meeting” them “where they are”.

Point #2: “Stop the Culture War. Start the Economic War”

Umm….Hello?

We don’t care about your Twitter fights. We don’t care about performative outrage. What do we care about?

Which party is more responsible for the “Culture War”, Twitter fights, and performative outrage?

Yes, I’m biased, but when you think of these things, who mostly comes to mind? Kamala Harris and Tim Walz? Or Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Stephen Miller, Lauren Boebert, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc…..I could go on.

Trump is the culture war demagogue, social media fighter, and outrage performer of the century. And young men voted for Trump because he represented an end to the culture war and the start of an economic war?

I’m not sure what Democrats can even do with this. We seem to be in a timeline where performative outrage wins elections because they suck up the most attention, especially among young people. So suggesting they back away from this might not be the best approach.

Make housing affordable. What’s your plan to make that happen?

Fix wages. Don’t just say “raise the minimum wage.” That’s not enough. Show us how to create good-paying jobs that let us build a real future

Take on corporate greed. We see billionaires getting richer while we’re stretched thin just trying to get by. Who’s standing up for us? Because right now, it doesn’t feel like it’s you.

Can these young men at least explain what exactly Trump said that made them think he would help with any of this. They say they want a plan, and to be “shown how” to do these things. Did Trump actually offer these things up to them? More specifics please. Alas, there were none here.

But right now, we don’t believe that Democrats are fighting for us. Because if they were, they’d be talking about the economy in a way that actually feels urgent and real.

That needs to change. Now.

Got it. Speak with urgency and take action, any action. Well, Trump certainly is taking urgent action. He’s dismantling our country as we know it, probably to the detriment of every citizen, including young men. But hey, at least it’s “action, now”.

Point #3: “Be Strong on Crime Without Sounding Like Republicans”

Okay, this one is fine. Democrats could speak out more on crime.

But again, if what you want is less Republican-sounding themes. then why the hell did you vote for…..Republicans?

Honestly, I want to know. Just explain your thought process here.

Crime actually went down during the Biden Administration, including in Democratic-led cities throughout America.

Is there a point where we should expect young men to simply Google some of these issues and do a minimal amount of research? I mean, they want a lot of things from Democrats. Can we as a citizenry want them to make an effort to acquire some basic knowledge. other than from Joe Rogan’s podcast? Or is that offensive?

63% of young men approve of how Trump is handling crime. That’s not because they want authoritarianism—it’s because they want safety.

Okay, I can accept they feel this way. But someone explain why they feel this way? The understanding is really the key thing here. Because without that, this just feels like ignorant vibes.

Perhaps Trump’s war on the FBI will change their thinking about how strong he is on crime, but I’m not holding my breath.

Point #4: “Be Real About Immigration”

Again, sure, Democrats should talk more about immigrations instead of hiding from it.

But it’s also not the apocalyptic problem that Trump and Republicans act like it is.

And, again, maybe Google a few things here and there to learn more about it, since border crossings had gotten lower at the end of Biden’s term than they were at any point during Trump’s term. And there were no terrorist attacks from anyone crossing the border during Biden’s term.

Not to mention the bipartisan border deal that Trump killed in order the keep it a winning political issue for the election, which was a swimmingly successful strategy.

Right now, Trump is the only one talking about this issue in a way that sounds strong and serious. That’s why young men are listening to him.

If Democrats don’t stop dodging the conversation, they will keep losing voters to the party that at least acts like it cares.

So, apparently, being loud, confident, and “strong” wins out over actual facts and common sense. Noted.

Point #5: “Act Like You Believe in Something”

Trump is winning young men not because they trust him—but because he fights.

Young men respect confidence. We respect leaders who stand for something, who don’t back down, who don’t flinch when challenged. Right now, Democrats don’t look like that. They look hesitant. They look unsure of themselves. They look like they’re waiting for permission to lead.

That needs to stop.

Again, what’s the lesson here? Because it seems like the lesson is “it doesn’t matter what you do your say, as long as you say stuff loudly and with conviction, and act on it with abandon”.

Is this really where we want our politics to go? Young men do, apparently.

Democrats sound more like commentators than leaders.

I can understand this sentiment. But again, could there be a bit of coherence at least about what it is young men want to be led towards? Because right now there seems to be no end goal other than pure masculinity for masculinity’s sake.

The Takeaway

So, in conclusion, the takeaway from this analysis of young men is……

Honestly, I don’t know. I started reading the article with hopes and dreams of gaining insight into the inner workings of the male youth vote’s mind. But I’m more confused and confounded than before I read it.

The only takeaway I can think of is that if Democrats had their own Trump-like figure, then young men would have considered voting for it.

So, there you go. Young men want exactly what they voted for. Perhaps there’s not really much more useful analysis than this.