As Democrats face a post-election identity crisis, one of their biggest challenges will be winning back support from male voters who flocked to President-elect Donald Trump.

While liberals have puzzled over why men are moving to the right, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D) is one of a few Democrats telling the simple truth: the party lost men by treating them badly.

Fetterman disses Democrats

In a new interview with the New York Times, Fetterman looked back on Trump's rise in 2016 as the moment he realized the left was losing touch with a large part of the electorate.

“It was clear [in 2016] that people were voting for Trump. And the Democrats’ response was, ‘Aren’t they smart enough to realize they’re voting against their interests?’ And that’s insulting, and that’s, I mean, that’s, that’s just not helpful," Fetterman said.

“It’s condescending. And if anything, that reinforces that kind of stereotype. Telling them that ‘I know better than you do,’ that’s not helpful.”

Fetterman's not the only Democrat to share this analysis. Months before the 2024 election, Democratic strategist James Carville said the party had become dominated by "preachy females."

That cultural shift was on full display during the election, as male voters, especially young and Latino men, helped power President-elect Trump to victory in an election strongly divided by sex.

Will Dems listen?

The Harris campaign prioritized abortion and encouraged wives in pro-Trump households to secretly vote for Kamala - as Harris surrogates like the Obamas scolded men publicly and pro-Harris ads portrayed men as porn addicted shut-ins.

The men Democrats held up as role models - like the grossly affected, theatrical oddball Tim Walz - only drove home the message that men must give up their dignity to become part of the Democratic coalition.

While the left talked down to men, the charismatic, unapologetically masculine Trump was able to relate to men in a way that Harris could not hope to match.

Fetterman said he was concerned about Trump's alliance with Elon Musk, which amplified Trump's appeal with men whom liberals have dismissed as "bros."

“Whether it’s the ‘bros,’ that negative term that perhaps even your publications uses as a negative, it’s the bros, or, you know, males, blue-collar guys, just people," he told The Times.

"It’s very rare, in my opinion, that surrogates have ‘fanboys.’ Making fun of [Musk] or make light of it, you do that at your peril, because it is going to matter,” he told the Times.

Fetterman is actually sharing some good advice, but fixing the party's brand with men is not going to happen overnight. Nor is it clear that Democrats are even willing to listen to what he has to say.