It’s being called the “.”
This year’s presidential matchup between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is one that comme꧟ntators say is fa🦄lling along gender lines, with and Barstool nation
Indeed, polling sup💖ports this narrative. A recent Suffolk University/USA Today poll is just one of many showing that women favor Democrats — in this case by a vast 21-point spread.
But these numbers don’t tell the whole story. While traditional polling of🌠⛦fers a broad snapshot, platforms like TikTok reveal more nuanced shifts in attitudes among female voters. Social science indicates that news cycles are often . For better or worse, platforms like X surface stories before mainstream journalists.
TikTok, which has a user base, is no exception.
While i🌠t may not be the most reliable source for breaking news, TikTok offers insights into the views of female voters that polling might miss. And those insights don’t always align with the stereotype tha꧟t TikTok leans progressive.
Take Kylie Pitts, a 21-year-old TikToker in Missis🍸sippi.
She has over a million followers, who watch thꦿe blond beauty, clad in oversized t-shirts, complete mundane tasks — making iced coffee, grocery shopping at Walmart and caring for her toddler and husbanܫd.
These videos, showcasing her , consistently rack up hundreds of thousa𓂃nds of views.
But Pitts is also a Trump supporter.
On April 29, she did a “,” unveiling 13 Trump-themed tops she had ordered from different boutiques. In subsequent June videos, , even if “we have different opinions, we can still be bestꦺies. It’s crazy to think otherwis⭕e.”
Her message of viewpoint diversity doesn’t appear to be hurting her popularity. On March 16, Pitts had 105,000 followers.
By October, after sharing Trump content, that n🐲umber had🦋 grown to 1.4 million.
Her videos follow similar trends: her first 12 clips in May, the month after her “Trump haul,” averaꦏged 844,000 views. Her first 12 videos in September averaged 1,356,000 views.
TikTok is revealing a complex 🔥political l🌳andscape that isn’t captured in mainstream narratives. Another indication of this complexity is the app’s fixation with the P. Diddy controversy, which counterintuitively elicits conservative-leaning sentiment.
, and we love celebrity culture.
The arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs for sex crimes taps into the unhoꦬly alliance of both, and discussions on TikTok have been obsessive. But this fascination isn’t just about the scandal itself; it’s about the underlying narratives of power, accountability and who gets protected by elites.
Jaguar Wright — a black hip hop artist who 🐽has collaborated with Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige — has gone viral for sharing anecdotes from her past interactions🙈 with Diddy.
Her vid🥀eos delve into conspiracies about the entertainment industry and its cover-ups. These videos are so widespread that they’ve spawned their own genre of playful spoofs.
B🐬ut what makes this trend even more interesting is that Wright supports Trump. She claims♛ that Diddy’s behavior has been an open secret in Hollywood for decades — enabled by a left-leaning establishment — and she sees Trump as an anti-establishment figure.
“In my honest opinion, it has to be Trump,” . “It has to be. Because if we vote DNC, we’re v⛦oting for liars. It’s just that simple.”
Whether Wright’s claims are v꧙alid, the widespread interest in them offers a glimpse into the concerns of 🍰young female voters.
But what about Trump’s vice-🐽preside🎐ntial candidate, J. D. Vance?
The ༒Ohio senator went viral for comments referring to some women as “.” Is he still Trump’s biggest lౠiability for capturing women, as pundits try to say?
Even that might be shifting.
America is suffering 🐻a , and Vance’s focus on family policies might appeal to those experiencing it. For women who have , Vance’s aim to make America safer for raising kids could resonate.
It did in Michigan last week.
, initially driven by abortion rights, said that Vance’s pro-familyꦯ stance pushed her closer to Trump after the vice-presidential debate.
Her c♈omments align with narratives circulating on social media.🧸
From suburbanites following Pittꦑs, to armchair detectives following Wright, to health-conscious granola moms intrigued byꦛ Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s messaging on chronic disease, many women are considering Trump.
Political candidates on both sides shouldn’t dismiss the seemingly niche and trivial trends on TikTok that help expl𒁏ain why.
Nora Kenney is a writer in NYC. Follow her on X at @norakenney_
