Donald Trumps return to office has bolstered a wave of apps. Bluesky spiked in November; Signal is seeing renewed attention. Niche dating apps are also raking in new usersboth from the right and left.
Americans are dating across party lines less and less. In 2020, 71% of Democrats told the Pew Research Center they wouldnt date a Trump voter. Most also agree that cross-party dating is getting harder. App developers have seized the moment, creating new spaces for singles to connect within their political circles.
But those efforts look different depending on which side of the aisle you gravitate toward. The MAGA movement has long flirted with its own dating appsnow one is gaining traction with hundreds of thousands of downloads and backing from Peter Thiel. On the left, attempts to build a liberal-only space havent taken off. Instead, progressive dating apps often feel more like a reaction born of resistance or fear.
The right-wing dating apps resurgence
Leading the pack among right-wing apps is Date Right Stuff, cofounded by former Trump staffer John McEntee and backed by $1.5 billion from Thiel. The apps 2022 launch was rocky, marked by few downloads and plenty of controversyincluding allegations that the FBI visited users who answered a prompt about the January 6 insurrection. One user, 18-year-old Grace Carter, told Wired that McEntee sent her uncomfortable messages via the apps Instagram.
But since Trumps inauguration, interest has surged. In a recent interview with Andrew Zucker on the Golden Age podcast, chief marketing officer Raquel Debono said the app has now surpassed 400,000 downloads. Like Tinder and Hinge, Date Right Stuff is expanding into live eventsit recently hosted a Make America Hot Again party at Trump Towerand into platonic matchmaking. Sort of like a Bumble BFF, but with your right-wing BFF, your person to talk politics with, Debono explained.
Security is also top of mind. Face ID verification is coming soon to make sure everyone is exactly who they say they are, Debono wrote in an email to Fast Company. Its all about meeting people who share your values, get your sense of humor, and let you be unapologetically yourself.
Whether Date Right Stuff has staying power is another question. Back in 2018, Gaby Del Valle wrote about the rise of right-wing dating apps for Vox. Every app mentionedRighter, Conservatives Only, Donald Daters, Patriohas since disappeared.
Where do all the liberals go?
Sex and dating quickly became political flashpoints after Trumps first election. Some liberals refused to match with anyone who identified as Moderate on Hinge. Others looked to Koreas 4B movement, where women pledged to abstain from dating and sex altogether.
But unlike the right, the left hasnt coalesced around a dating enclave, despite the fact that dating apps, in general, have long skewed liberal. According to a 2006 Pew study, online daters were more likely to express liberal social beliefs. But platforms explicitly designated for progressive users like Lefty and TruuBlue haven’t gained traction.
Then theres the rise of fake dating. Lavender marriages (unions between LGBTQ+ individuals to mask their identities) have gone viral on TikTok in the wake of Trumps return to the White House. More queer daters are now seeking relationships rooted in political safety over attraction. In a grim twist, theres an app for that.
Jeremy Del Zotto created Gen We, and recently launched a Lavender Marriages community on the app. The announcement video has racked up more than 500,000 views. In a recent update, Del Zotto said Gen We had thousands of downloads within weeks.
