Apparently, the United States is properly masculine again (whatever that means). According to U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley, “toxic masculinity” is a thing of the past, and it’s all thanks to President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. It’s certainly an interesting take, especially given that toxic masculinity is defined as “a collection of offensive, harmful beliefs, tendencies, and behaviors rooted in traditional male roles but taken to an extreme,” per Verywell.
Toxic masculinity doesn’t mean that masculinity is inherently toxic. Instead, it refers to a way of thinking about masculinity that is rigid and harmful. As Verywell puts it, it’s a “dangerous idea of ‘manliness’ perpetuates domination, homophobia, and aggression.”
Interestingly, when speaking to Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Crowley accused former president Joe Biden of exhibiting toxic masculinity. According to her, Americans are now better off because of Trump and Hegseth’s “real masculinity.”
The topic came up during a conversation about Trump’s recent speech at an event celebrating the U.S. Navy’s 250th Anniversary. After hearing the speech, Crowley praised Trump’s “bold, muscular leadership.”
She said, “What a difference a presidency makes, Jesse. I mean, we are now totally over that destructive, stupid era of toxic masculinity and now we’re in an era of real masculinity thanks to the bold, muscular leadership of President Trump and our Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.”
She went on to say that those who were present at the event clearly love the current president. “We saw that in bold relief yesterday,” she said. “What an incredible day. I was there. I was so privileged to speak before the president. We had over 20,000 people there. Sailors, admirals, Gold Star families, veterans. We had some Marines there as well. They went wild! They love this commander-in-chief, they love the first lady, they love this administration.”
Ahh yes, the fat, orange spray-tanned, paper thin-skinned, self-pitying, malignant narcissist is a paragon of masculinity. Why? Because he can insult people, punch down, go to wrestling matches, swear like a jr high school bully, and ignore the Constitution. What a guy 😂
— Richard Gibson (@rickgwriter) October 7, 2025
Reacting to Crowley’s assertions on social media, people had questions about her understanding of “toxic masculinity.” One person on X wrote, “The irony of calling the previous era ‘toxic masculinity’ while celebrating ‘muscular leadership’ is not lost on me.” Another critic questioned, “Is it Opposite Day and no one told me?”
A third critic accused Crowley of “pretending what we’re seeing here isn’t toxic masculinity…” and added that “every accusation is a confession with these people.”
As the video about “real masculinity” circulated online, one mom on X decided to share a list of “top 10 things MAGA men are afraid of” that was compiled by her daughters. The list included things like cities, public transportation, girls, pop stars, and languages other than English.
