Garrett, a Houston Logan Paul fan in his early 20s, runs his own YouTube channel under the name Spy Jay.
He said he found Paul’s brand of ‘dictator’ attractive and had an overall positive view of Trump before the interview, calling him ‘a patriotic nationalist who wants to get the country back to an improved state than before.’ .
“But the persecution he is facing suggests that while there is a constant intent by the media to rewrite who he is and what he represents, there is a greater evil at work,” he said. “And that made me more inclined to be open-minded about voting for him.”
The internet star, who watched Trump on Paul’s podcast, asked Trump if he had ever been in a fight, and Trump’s interview with Adin Roth confirmed his view, Garrett told the BBC.
Garrett said younger Americans are increasingly interested in politics and that he believes Trump is tapping into the alternative media space “like no candidate has before.”
“So whether it’s a good strategy or a bad strategy, it’s going to impact a significant number of young people,” he said.
Online reaction to the video was generally positive. “No one can convince me Trump isn’t just a bro,” one person said, while another said, “Whether you like him or not, he sure knows how to make an interview entertaining.”
But some experts question whether there is enough room for Trump to grow his voting base in the male-heavy subculture where he has long enjoyed support.
“Trump seems to have already captured the male-dominated masculinity of men over 25, so this is a late-stage, somewhat desperate attempt to become more relevant,” said Jack Bratich, a media professor at Rutgers University. “Manosphere”.
Bratich says young men who were extremely online were very active during the 2016 election campaign. That’s because political memes and extreme message boards like 4chan were prominent at the time, Bratich says.
Now, eight years later, things are very different, he says. “No specific right-wing youth-based online political movement has been identified” and is heavily participating in this year’s contest.
But he points out that there is little risk and potentially large reward for Trump.
Whether it will succeed will depend on persuading politically disengaged young people to log out and head to the polls.
Like so much else about this election, the play for young voters is full of unknowns.
