Fetterman States Democrats Have Become "Anti-Men," Cautions About Young Male Voter Departure

The senator says the migration of working-class men away from the party started with Trump’s rise in 2016

John Fetterman says Democrats are losing support from young men as the party develops what he called an “anti-men” image.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said Democrats alienated young male voters by increasingly portraying men as “part of the problem” during a wide-ranging discussion with Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Donna Brazile about masculinity, parenting and the Democratic Party’s struggles with working-class men.

“Well, without a doubt, though you know there’s part of the Democratic Party became more and more anti-men or describing that they were part of the problem, or they have toxic traits,” Fetterman said during the discussion on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

“And that’s why there’s been such a big, big migration away from the Democratic Party from young men, and that’s that’s really why, one of the parts why we lost in 2024.”

The conversation began after host Bill Maher asked Fetterman about a statistic showing men are nearly twice as likely as women to still live with their parents in the current economy.

John Fetterman said Democrats lost support among young male voters after increasingly framing men as part of the country’s broader social problems. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“We’ve lost the vote,” Fetterman later said while discussing traditional union workers and male voters. “You talk to any of the traditional union members that are men. You know, they — we’ve lost them a long time ago.”

Fetterman argued Democrats cannot rebuild support among male voters by blaming them for broader societal problems.

“Now if you identify anyone as the problem or blame them for some things, then you’re going to lose,” Fetterman said.

John Fetterman argued working-class and union men have been drifting away from Democrats for years, warning the party must stop blaming male voters. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg)

Brazile acknowledged concerns about young men struggling socially and economically, but argued women historically faced many of the same barriers.

“Look, I’ve been a part-time college professor for 33 years. There is something going on with young men in our country,” Brazile said. “They are reticent, many of them are holding back, and we need to address that.”

“I think they don’t know their place anymore and that’s something that men need to decide and discuss, but as a woman for years, decades, centuries, women had to be overconfident just to appear qualified.”

John Fetterman discussed masculinity, young men and the Democratic Party’s 2024 election struggles during a wide-ranging political panel discussion. (Steven Senne/AP)

Brazile rejected the idea that women were responsible for young men’s frustrations.

“I don’t want men to think that the reason why young men are suffering is because some woman,” Brazile said. “Young men are dealing with what young women had to deal with centuries ago.”

Crenshaw argued cultural and parenting differences also contribute to the divide between political groups and attitudes toward masculinity.

“I’m not a fan of gentle parenting,” Crenshaw said while discussing discipline and household expectations. “It seems to be more acceptable to say that in the Black community than the White community to be able to say, ‘Yes, my parents whooped me.’”

Fetterman said Democrats have been losing working-class male voters for years, dating back to President Donald Trump’s rise in 2016.

“I’ve witnessed that migration away from the Democratic Party starting back in 2016,” Fetterman said. “We really have to find a way to bring them back and make better arguments without blaming them or describing they are the problem.”