Fifteen months before the presidential election, it is the one who will lead the most muscular electoral campaign – in the first sense of the term. In a video meant to tout his anti-LGBT laws, Ron DeSantis mixes photos of himself with images of male bodybuilders and serial killer Christian Bale.American Psycho. The governor of Florida is not the only one to cultivate this kind of imagery. All of the contestants flaunt biceps. At 69, Democrat Robert Kennedy Jr. filmed himself shirtless doing push-ups. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez touts his running skills. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy posts videos of his exploits on the tennis courts. As for the former governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, 72, he claims that he still plays basketball.
This cult of virility is not new. Each ballot gives rise to advertisements featuring candidates who shoot assault rifles. Besides, playing Rambo is not the prerogative of men: Sarah Palin, the ex-governor of Alaska, carved out a mini-celebrity for herself… by cutting up a moose. If the valorization of the muscular macho is frequent among Republicans, the Democrats are not left out. Jamaal Bowman, representing New York, posted a video where he is seen lifting dumbbells. In 2019, Joe Biden, for his part, offered a push-up competition to an Iowa voter who considered him too old.
An electoral argument
It was Donald Trump who popularized testosterone in politics. Throughout his term, he gloried in the size of his penis – substantial, he suggests without convincing his opponents. He also nicknamed Ron DeSantis “Tiny D” (little b…) and praised tough men like Vladimir Putin and Erdogan, “a tough guy who deserves respect”. The former president even challenged Kim Jong-un by tweeting that his was “much bigger and more powerful” than the North Korean. It was then a question of nuclear button… More recently, in July, this combat sport fan attended a match of mixed martial arts (MMA) in Las Vegas, where he posed with fighters.
“Hypermasculinity is increasingly the norm among Republicans,” says Andrew Reiner, author of a book titled Better Boys, Better Men: The New Masculinity That Creates Greater Courage and Emotional Resiliency. First of all, it finds an echo among young people. “It’s back to the allure of physical strength, the old school of masculinity,” he explains. In the age of TikTok, displaying your sporting prowess guarantees you will be noticed on social networks. The video of Robert Kennedy Jr and his pumps set Twitter ablaze, where some claimed JFK’s nephew was on steroids. Flexing your muscles, showing your vitality are also simple ways to signal a contrast with Joe Biden, 80, and Donald Trump, 77. “Getting ready for debates with President Biden!” tweeted Democrat Kennedy under his video. Finally, the glorification of physical strength and the alpha male is an unsubtle way to attack gays and trans people, a central campaign theme among Republicans.
Conservatives accuse Democrats of emasculating the male sex. In his book Manhood (“manhood”), Missouri Senator Josh Hawley discusses how the left and modern culture threaten manhood. “Men are in crisis,” he repeats. This antiphon is also that of Tucker Carlson, the ex-host of Fox News who, in a program, proposed an unprecedented cure to produce “big guys”. His miracle recipe? The artificial tan of the testicles! And it doesn’t matter if it borders on the ridiculous. “Name another presidential candidate who can finish 6th in a 3 mile race with a time of 24:5,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez tweeted recently. Uncharitable souls pointed out that he was sixth…in the 45-49 age category. As for the video of DeSantis as Mr. Muscle, “it’s actually very gay,” laughs another critic on Twitter.