As Democrats win big, thirst traps of male candidates take social media by storm

It's everywhere on social media: Democrats celebrating the attractive men voters elected in the midterms. But it's bigger than a meme and says a lot about politics of masculinity in the age of Trump.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x2688+0+0/resize/4032x2688!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F10%2Ff7%2F97f674e0403bb49b1401fda0ff98%2Fgettyimages-2303426754.jpg' alt='Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-TX) speaks during a midterm election night event on Nov. 3, 2026 in Austin, Texas.'/><p>It's everywhere on social media: Democrats celebrating the attractive men voters elected in the midterms. But it's bigger than a meme and says a lot about politics of masculinity in the age of Trump.</p><p>(Image credit: Brandon Bell)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6040507' />