In the 2024 election, it’s Corleone vs. Yoda
This year’s presidential election isn’t just about visions for the country.
It’s also about versions of older manhood. And what those mean for men of all ages.
Donald Trump, 77, offers us Don Corleone from “The Godfather” — a violent, power-obsessed patriarch. Joe Biden, 81, is more like Yoda — the “Star Wars” sage with surprising feistiness.
The stakes are high as the country chooses between the candidates and their takes on masculinity. Polls suggest Biden has the bigger challenge, including widespread concern that he is over the hill.
But as Biden suggested in his recent State of the Union speech, the crucial question is which direction you’re facing as an aging man — forward or backwards? “The issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are,” Biden said. “It’s how old our ideas are.”
MAGA masculinity
Trump has an outdated male ethos. MAGA masculinity is a conventional, confined definition of manhood, with just a few acceptable roles and ways of relating to others. Be a provider, a protector or a conqueror. Dominate others, do it by yourself and show no vulnerability.
Trump’s father famously told him to be “a killer,” be “a king.” Those options limit older men to show up much as Trump does:
like a cold-blooded mob boss.
“The Donald” has only grown more ruthless and lawless in the past four years. Witness his recent mocking of Biden for stuttering, his promise to be his followers’ “retribution” if reelected, and the 91 felony charges against him — including for trying to overturn the 2020 election.
The political crisis in America today has much to do with the hyper-competitiveness at the heart of Trump’s definition of masculinity. Trump would rather lie, cheat and even trigger an insurrection than be branded a loser.
Losing equals weakness — an attribute Trump and his followers love to assign to Biden. They combine that obsession with shows of strength and Biden’s advanced age to portray the president as frail and incapable.
Biden is 81. It’s likely that his
mental processing power has slowed some, and his body moves more stiffly than it once did. But he doesn’t show signs of significant cognitive decline. Aging experts say Biden’s verbal slip-ups do not necessarily mean a drop in mental sharpness. A 2020 paper, in fact, studied Biden and Trump’s medical records and concluded that both men “are likely to be ‘super agers.’”
Advanced age certainly hasn’t stopped Biden from achieving much in office. Biden’s achievements include passing a major infrastructure law, leading the country out of the COVID crisis and building a coalition to stand up to Vladimir Putin after the Russian dictator invaded Ukraine.
Indeed, Biden represents a very positive archetype of an aging man: the sage or wise man. A male elder whose years have bestowed heightened wisdom and a preference for kindness over cruelty. And a man who has tamed his ego to the extent that he doesn’t require the spotlight constantly.
What’s more, Biden’s energetic State of the Union address in March showed he’s far from weak, senile or listless.
Democrats delighted in how, during the speech, Biden took the fight to Congressional Republicans as well as the man he referred to only as “my predecessor.” It was like the moment when that “Star Wars” sage, Yoda, showed off lightning-fast moves as he battled Count Dooku in “Attack of the Clones.” Fans everywhere laughed and cheered the old teacher’s surprising speed and power.
Strong and sensitive
Still, Biden has a tough job to do to sell his version of manhood. Many American men feel like they’re losing, as traditional notions of masculinity collide with a changing world. Trump’s might-makes-right manhood offers a simplistic, seductive answer.
Biden’s is a more complex masculinity that blends traditional male archetypes such as conviction and commitment with the deeply human qualities of compassion and connection.
Biden’s mature male ethos is what we need now. Qualities such as self-awareness, empathy and cooperation are vital in a world that is faster, flatter and more fairness-focused. The strongman and the barking boss of yesteryear now come across as rigid, cold and isolated in a business climate and society that call for agility, warmth and connection.
We have to shed our hyper-individualism and recognize our interdependence if we’re going to solve our biggest global challenges, including the climate crisis.
The good news is that many boys and men are quietly rejecting Trump’s regressive role model. Some of the “toughest guys” in fields such as professional football, policing and corporate law are evolving to embrace vulnerability, emotional expressivity and a collaborative spirit. Witness, for example, the tears that flowed from professional football players Travis and Jason Kelce when Jason announced his retirement earlier this year.
Still, the question remains: What version of older manhood will we elect come November? And by extension, what type of masculinity will we embrace? Will we pick Trump and his violent, vengeful Don Corleone? Or Biden and his strong-and-sensitive Yoda?
Much is at stake.
May we choose the right movie archetype — and the right older man.