Young men from China to South Korea are celebrating Trump’s re-election as a victory against anti-male sentiment.
Donald Trump’s popularity among young men who frequent the “manosphere” online has been widely cited as a factor in his re-election as president of the United States.
After making its mark in voting booths across the US, Trump’s appeal among male influencers and their followers is reverberating much further afield.
Across Asia, where countries such as China and South Korea are experiencing a growing gender divide that mirrors similar trends in the West, Trump’s return to the most powerful political office on the planet has been celebrated in male-dominated spaces online.
“Honestly, I really admire Trump, because he is not afraid to face his battles head-on,” zhtttyzhttty, a prominent influencer who discusses the challenges facing men on China’s social media platform Weibo, posted the day after Trump’s victory.
Sima Nan, an ultranationalist blogger who has more than 44 million followers on social media, welcomed Trump’s win despite his frequent criticism of the US, citing his “transactional mentality” as a positive.
“To put it bluntly, Trump is a trader. He calls himself a great trader. Trump will cut ties with Taipei and trade with Beijing,” Nan said on Weibo, referring to Beijing’s stance that self-governing Taiwan is part of its territory.
On Chinese internet forums where many ordinary young men congregate, praise for Trump, who won 49 percent of male voters aged 18-29 in the US election, has been a common theme both before and since the November 5 vote.
“Trump is a businessman, and businessmen usher in the best of times,” one Weibo user wrote after Trump’s re-election.
“Only Trump tells you everything with certainty and clarity.”
When photos of Trump raising his fist moments after being struck in the ear by a would-be assassin’s bullet ricocheted around the world in July, internet users marvelled at the Republican candidate’s act of defiance.
“What an amazing photo,” one Weibo user said. “Trump is so strong,” he continued.
The admiration for Trump among some young Chinese stands in contrast to the president-elect’s aggressive rhetoric and policies towards their country.
Trump has for years cast China as a threat, accusing it of stealing American jobs and blaming it for unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic on the world.
During his election campaign and since, he has threatened to slap steep tariffs on Chinese imports – a move that could potentially inflict huge damage to Chinese companies and the Chinese economy.
