MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace Says Trump Tariffs Will Hurt ‘Manosphere’ That Got Him Elected: ‘Nothing More Emasculating’

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace and former co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign Mitch Landrieu on Friday said that there is “nothing more emasculating” than the tariffs being imposed by President Donald Trump, saying he’s “axing off” the buying power of people and groups like the so-called “manosphere” who voted him in.

On Friday’s Deadline: White House on MSNBC, Wallace spoke with Landrieu about Trump’s tariffs, which have caused upheaval in the world’s financial markets and analysts say will drive up the price of consumer goods dramatically.

Wallace at one point brought up the so-called “manosphere”, a term originally applied to a particular type of online community with sinister undertones but which has since been used by some in media to apply to a much broader segment of websites and media on the right. Wallace used it in reference to Trump going on podcasts during the campaign, which she said “mattered a lot.”

“But in consuming some of their content, a lot of conversations were pretty shallow ones about masculinity and what it meant to be emasculated, in their versions and their narratives, by political correctness, among other things,” Wallace said, pausing and then adding, “There is nothing more emasculating than losing your buying power.”

“There is nothing that takes away your sense of an ability to get ahead more than axing off your buying power,” she said to Landrieu. “And that is exactly what Trump by himself did this week.”

Landrieu agreed, noting the expense of raising kids and expanding Wallace’s “manosphere” premise to include working class parents at large.

“Nicolle you’re exactly right, most of these men who say they feel emasculated, they feel looked over — one of the things they’re expressing is their inability to make a living the way their folks did, and to be able to provide for the kids,” he said. “And they are not happy that the price of their car has gone up, their home is going to be more out of reach, the iPhone’s gonna go from a thousand dollars to thirty five hundred.”

The former co-chair for the failed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz presidential campaign concluded that Americans are “really pissed” that everything is “in a shambles” now that Trump is in office.

It’s not the firs time that masculinity came up in the context of the Harris-Walz campaign. It was a frequent topic in the press, often with respect to having a first female president and, consequently, first First Gentleman if they’d won

WALLACE: So, Mitch, I spent nine months having to learn about the power of the “Manosphere” and seeing Donald Trump sit with all sorts of podcasters and bloggers, and people younger and hipper than me having to explain to me who they are and why they matter. And gosh darn if he wasn’t right. Right? They mattered a lot.

But in consuming some of their content, a lot of conversations were pretty shallow ones about masculinity and what it meant to be emasculated, in their versions and their narratives, by political correctness, among other things… There is nothing more emasculating than losing your buying power. Than being a dad at the end of a baseball tournament travel weekend who can’t pick up the check for everybody and feel great and generous. By being a mom or a dad and not being able to afford the new pair of sneakers or the brand new gear for your kid who wants to play basketball or baseball or your daughter who’s a gymnast.

There is nothing that takes away your sense of an ability to get ahead more than axing off your buying power. And that is exactly what Trump by himself did this week.

LANDRIEU: Well first of all the call thank you for having me. A couple things: first of all, Donald Trump ran for office and his promise was his singular most important promise the reason why he got elected was to lower people’s cost and as you said he has single-handedly — this is him it’s nobody else, nobody else could do it the way he did it. He imposed these tariffs which are essentially a massive tax increase on not just some of Americans but all of Americans and the ones that he promised not to do it to.

And as Pablo said and of course as you both alluded to you brought me back i have five kids i had four kids on four separate teams and they were all traveling. And I paid that money for all that equipment. I promise you every parent this summer is gonna feel that pinch in the wallet. I’m doing a tour right now of America, and we’re talking to working class people were talking to a lot of men.

And Nicolle you’re exactly right most of these men who say they feel emasculated, they feel looked over — one of the things they’re expressing is their inability to make a living the way their folks did, and to be able to provide for the kids.

And they are not happy that the price of their car has gone up, their home is going to be more out of reach, the iPhone’s gonna go from a thousand dollars to thirty five hundred. All the clothes they have to buy for their kids or their sports equipment, home appliances, contact lenses for God’s sakes, toys. Not even talking about the construction management jobs that are coursing through the United States right now. All of that is going up.

So Donald Trump on his own. Eviscerated the economy, eviscerated Main Street, eviscerated Wall Street, is having jobs lost go up and the costs go up, and – and everything else just in in a shambles. And it’s just a damn shame. And people are really pissed about it.

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.