The connections between Trump, Vance, and figures like Tate and the highly toxic incel community appear to be acting at least partly strategically.
As Trump’s own campaign managers have outlined his strategy, one of the campaign’s key targets is “remote, MAGA-friendly voters who have proven difficult to reach,” as The Atlantic put it.
To that end, a pro-Trump PAC has launched a $20 million campaign to reach young voters, kicking off with Vance’s appearance on the Full Send podcast by the Nelk Boys, a group of four men who have a large following among young conservative men.
The Nelk Boys have hosted Tate in the past, as well as Nico Kenn De Balinthazy, another far-right influencer better known as Sneako. De Balinthazy has dreamed of being allowed to hit women, like men were allowed to do 50 years ago. In a video uploaded to TikTok, he was filmed hitting a woman and responding that she had been “up all night.”
In their podcast, the Nelk Boys have repeatedly defended the misogynistic rhetoric of Tate and De Balinthazy.
Trump himself has been interviewed several times by the Nelk Boys, calling their work “important,” and was recently photographed with Sneako at an MMA event.
Trump was also recently interviewed by streamer Adin Ross, a Tate ally who inadvertently tipped off authorities about Tate’s plans to flee Romania. He was also kicked off Twitch for displaying “unmoderated hateful conduct” in a chat and hosting white nationalist Nick Fuentes. During the interview, Ross gifted Trump a flashily-decorated Tesla Cybertruck and a Rolex, which some experts say may have violated campaign finance rules.
Trump’s misogynistic worldview has also reached other areas of conservative politics.
Even before Kamala Harris officially replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, she was demonized by the right as a “DEI hire” – a term Tate has used in the past to criticize women.
Prominent right-wing media personalities have also made numerous misogynistic comments in recent months. In April, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk blamed birth control for creating “very angry and bitter young ladies,” falsely claiming that the drug “ruins the female brain.” Fox Business regular Alec Lace appeared on the network last month and thought it was OK to call Harris the “original Hawk Tuah girl,” “that’s how she got to where she is,” before adding that she is a “DEI vice president.” And just last month, Fox News primetime host Jesse Watters claimed, “When a man votes for a woman, he actually turns into a woman.”
The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month featured speakers such as Dana White, who was filmed slapping his wife, and Hulk Hogan, who is accused of physically abusing his wife. (Hogan filed a defamation suit over the allegations, but asked the court to dismiss it five months later.) The list also included a number of conservative figures who have sought to blame victims of sexual assault, such as David Sacks and Mark Robinson. Among the speakers was Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida lawmaker who is being investigated but not charged by the Justice Department on allegations that he participated in a human trafficking plot involving a 17-year-old girl.
“Women like me who know President Trump personally and work for him know that he encourages and treats generously the women around him,” said Trump spokeswoman Leavitt. “Most importantly, President Trump’s policies have lifted women across the country by lowering the cost of living and making our communities safer.”
