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Former President Donald Trump’s paternalistic remark about his intention to be a “protector” for women — who he claimed are lonely, stressed, depressed and unhappy — has garnered predictable backlash since the weekend.
“You will no longer be abandoned, lonely or scared. You will no longer be in danger. ... You will no longer have anxiety from all of the problems our country has today,” Trump said. “You will be protected, and I will be your protector.”
Trump made the context for those assurances crystal clear when he added that women will “no longer be thinking about abortion” if he’s elected. New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait had an insightful analogy when he compared the comment to “creepy abuser logic.”
Chait is spot-on, and when I heard Trump’s comments, they reminded me of the pickup artists who’ve become popular in the MAGA movement. These characters are men who market themselves as tutors for men who want to learn how to attract women. Their tactics usually rely on infantilizing women and their desires, promoting the idea that men need to police women’s behavior, and, oddly enough, using insults (known as negging) to manipulate women’s affection. It’s misogynistic stuff.
And Trump’s well-documented spiritual alignment with this community has been ongoing for years, most notably when Esquire asked in 2016 if Trump was “the World’s Greatest Pickup Artist.” But more links between Trump and pickup artists have become apparent in recent years.
Zak Folkman, a business partner in Trump’s latest cryptocurrency scheme, is a controversial pickup artist whose courses purportedly teach men how to “Become the Ultimate Alpha Male.” Wired recently reported on the ways in which Trump’s rhetoric mirrors notorious pickup artist Andrew Tate’s. Another pickup artist, Tariq Nasheed, is known for peddling pro-Trump propaganda and leads the MAGA-friendly group Foundational Black Americans, which works to pit Black Americans against immigrants. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, also has plenty of ties to the “manosphere,” a group of misogynistic content creators that includes several self-styled pickup artists. And back in 2021, Jezebel noted a pair of pickup artists who appeared at the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.
Indeed, Trump’s portrayal of himself as some kind of superhero who can solve every single American woman’s problems is emblematic of a broader movement of misogynistic men who see women as meek targets for their manipulation.
It’s a topic the ReidOut Blog will explore in more depth over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.