Lorcan Nyhan: Donald Trump will win US election if young men fall for his uber macho act.

Originally published in the Irish Independent.

Donald Trump has recaptured his era-defining form just in time for the last nine days of the US election. He has rediscovered his ability to dominate the news agenda and to cut through the national conversation to reach and charm the type of politically disengaged voters who have been key to his historic success.

Let’s be honest, until recently, Trump had become quite boring. The news was about him, but not driven by him. He cut a passive figure. One who had lost his ability to shock and to entertain as he rolled out the same, self-obsessed, talking points.

In the last week, he changed that script. He has looked and sounded more like the 2016 version of the candidate. Trump has started to be Trump — bringing both more light and more dark to his campaign.

And bringing himself back to the top of his potential voters’ social media feeds with a series of engaging viral moments, from the visual genius of an aproned Trump serving fries in McDonald’s to the 10-minute discussion on the size of the golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitalia.

From directly calling Kamala Harris a “shit” vice president to calling Democratic politicians “the enemy within”.

Trump has become more interesting. More offensive. More dangerous. More newsworthy. Vulgar as his comments are, and as sad as it is, it works.

Read Lorcan Nyhan's full article on how Donald Trump will win the US election if young men fall for his uber macho act here