As the race gets closer and closer and D-Day approaches at lightning pace, the electrifying intensity of anticipation for the upcoming US presidential elections is being felt not just in the United States but all over the world. And one particular phenomenon that is almost unique to the US presidential elections, when it comes to the sheer volume and impact, are the celebrity endorsements.
This has been an ongoing practice in the United States since the early 20th century. Silent film actors Al Johnson and Mary Pickford were famous for speaking up for President Warren G. Harding before they could even speak in films. Nothing much has changed, and yes, Hollywood’s support and backing are showering on both candidates, Harris and Trump.
From Eminem introducing Barack Obama to rallying support for Kamala Harris a few days ago at an event in his signature style to Kanye West’s undying declarations of support for Donald Trump, hip hop is hipping and hopping for who gets to be in the White House. Of course, we all remember Elon Musk and Taylor Swift’s public X (formerly Twitter) spat that gained attention worldwide a few weeks ago, when Swift announced she’d be voting for Kamala Harris. Charlie XCX, a hugely popular pop star and a Democrat, released an album earlier this year, ‘BRAT’, which became pretty much the focal point of Kamala Harris’ media campaign. It was a “BRAT Summer”, the summer of 2024, as many of us on social media have been led to believe.
Hollywood has mostly been showering love on Kamala Harris, but Trump has his star supporters, too.
Kamala has heavy hitters such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, Neil Young… The list goes on and on.
Trump, apart from Elon Musk, nothing less of a Hollywood celebrity himself apart from being a tech mogul, has in his corner Kid Rock, Mel Gibson, Tucker Carlson, Kanye West, Dennis Quaid, and Rob Schneider, amongst others.
So, what’s the deal behind Hollywood’s heavy engagement in the elections, and do their songs, high-profile appearances, and social media posts actually make any real difference?
With the candidates currently being neck and neck with each other in the race, can an appearance by Beyonce really swing things?
We definitely know that the candidates are investing in social media endorsements. Tana Mongeau, a popular social media personality with a hugely successful podcast that has millions of followers, said during one of her podcasts that she is personally aware that a large number of social media influencers have been offered massive amounts of money to endorse a particular candidate. No different really, from the brand deals that they usually generate their revenue from. She elaborated that though she hadn’t succumbed to this pressure, she knows many fellow influencers who have.
Bryce Hall, a TikTok star, has been very vocal in his support for Donald Trump, frequently seen wearing MAGA apparel, and has proclaimed, “We need Trump back, badly”, on many a podium.
It is an indisputable fact that celebrity endorsements definitely have a massively positive effect on consumer products, but is it the same when it comes to a country’s leadership elections?
Most studies that have tried to gauge the impact of celebrity endorsements on elections often have conflicting results due to various underlying factors.
The 2008 case study of the Democratic Presidential Primary and Oprah Winfrey’s effect on it was very interesting. Researchers found the data containing areas where Oprah’s Book Club and magazine sales were highest and used this to determine where she had the most followers and fans, where it was presumed her endorsement would have the most impact. Then they cross-checked the voting records for political representatives in those specific areas to determine political leanings and contributions from these areas. This data combined with polling results showed that Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama in 2008 for the Democratic Primary was responsible for 1,015,559 votes (Garthwaite & Moore, 2013).
However, a 2007 poll between USA Today and Gallup showed that 10 per cent of adults were less likely to vote for Barack Obama because of Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement. A complete opposite finding from Garthwaite’s report.
It is a general consensus that voters trust political analysts more than celebrities when it comes to actually voting.
Though one might suppose that young voters, with less political awareness and knowledge about policy matters, might be influenced by their pop or cine idols, numerous studies show that they are instead more reliant on their family and immediate social circle when it comes to voting. It can also be argued that celebrity reliability is too vague a concept when it comes to voting.
Sometimes, celebrity endorsements may also have a negative impact on the candidate or party. For example, during the 2016 US presidential elections, Hillary Clinton had a number of pornographic actors endorsing her, which led to the disapproval of many of her prospective voters.
Also, celebrities professing support to candidates outside of their party were less likely to lead to a positive impact for the particular candidate. In fact, it could also mean a negative impact for that candidate, since they would lose credibility because of an endorsement coming from outside of the party they are affiliated with. For example, a celebrity with an already known proclivity towards the Democratic Party will be received better by the Democratic voting population. Same with the Republicans. Individual party preferences can often hamper the effects of endorsements.
According to a study (Brubaker, 2011), Democrat voters were more likely to be influenced by celebrity endorsements than Republicans.
Republican and Independent supporters tend to vote for policy endorsed by a nonpartisan government official rather than a singer.
Ultimately, though celebrity endorsements might have a guiding effect on voters who lack political awareness, there is nothing to suggest that celebrity endorsements actually have any kind of real-time impact on the outcome of an election for any candidate.
Hollywood is going full throttle in the last leg of campaigning before November 2024.
Now the wait begins till at least November 5 to find out who comes on top. Not just in the Trump vs Harris battle, but also Taylor Swift vs Elon Musk. A spat that got as much media attention as any other political conversation in the US during the pre-election summer. Will Trump pull off another stunner victory, or will America get its first female president? One thing is for sure: the past few months have outdone any Hollywood thriller script.
The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
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