USA TODAY International Edition
THE ‘ CELEBRITY GAP’ IN POLITICS PREVAILS
And now it’s wider than ever — but does it really even matter?
The 2016 race for celebrity presidential endorsements is almost over, and the winner already seems clear. But who cares? With the exception of Oprah Winfrey backing Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary, celebrity endorsements have never been proven to have moved many voters in past elections.
And, despite this being the most unprecedented presidential campaign in American history, the traditional “celeb gap” — Democrats usually boast Hollywood endorsements in better quantity and quality than Republicans — remains obvious, albeit more gaping than ever before.
But so far in 2016, it hasn’t mattered, maybe because the candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, are major celebs themselves.
So why do candidates still chase celebrity endorsements? Because they can help with fundraising and because they might influence certain voting blocks, such as Millennials glued to their social media accounts, say political and pop- culture experts.
“If a celebrity they look up to is online slamming a candidate, that’s going to leave an impression,” says Bre Payton, 24, who covers culture and Millennial politics for the conservative/ libertarian magazine The Federalist. “When Chrissy Teigen gets into Twitter fights with Trump, pointing out how ridiculous his ideas are, that definitely leaves an impression on young voters; they may not be so likely to vote for someone as a result.”
Trump, the most famous Hollywood-entertain erturn ed-presidential-candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1980, could plausibly boast he’s a bigger star than any celebrity who might endorse him.
( Neither Trump nor Clinton features a section on their websites listing their celebrity endorsements, as Clinton primary rival Bernie Sanders did, and neither campaign returned messages inquiring about the list of stars who back its candidate.
The few who have endorsed Republican Trump mostly inhabit the C- list: rocker Ted Nugent, wres-
tler Hulk Hogan, Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, Vegas crooner Wayne Newton. They tend to get more attention for their Trump love than arguably bigger stars like country queen Loretta Lynn,
Cheers star Kirstie Alley and Oscar winner Jon Voight.
Trump “doesn’t need anybody, and why would he? He’s the most egotistical candidate we’ve ever seen. Why would he want anybody showing him up?” says David Schneiderman, a founder/ owner of Hollywood trailer- maker Seismic Productions and a fundraiser for Clinton.
Meanwhile, Democrat Clinton, one of the most famous women in the world, boasts Katy Perry, Reese Witherspoon and Lena Dunham among her supporters.
Tuesday, Leonardo DiCaprio was to co- host a starry fundraiser for Clinton in Los Angeles but had to bow out because of a schedule change. But Justin Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel will fill in for him, along with other Hollywood co- hosts, including Jennifer Aniston, Tobey Maguire and Shonda Rhimes.
And yet, according to polls, Clinton remains one of the most distrusted and disliked Democratic presidential nominees in years. A Washington Post/ ABC poll Aug. 1- 4 found that 50% of those polled had an unfavorable view of her ( compared with 63% unfavorability rating for Trump), while 59% do not consider her honest and trustworthy ( compared with 62% for Trump).
Trump’s main A- list endorsement so far is Clint Eastwood — but a surprisingly tepid Eastwood. The Oscar- winning actor and director said in an interview with Esquire this month that if he had to pick between Clinton and Trump, “I’d have to go for Trump.”
Talk about damning with faint praise. But why should Trump care? He has gotten this far without the A- list.
Trump promised a showbiz-style Republican National Convention last month, but it wasn’t. The two big celebs on his stage were Scott Baio, a sitcom actor who hasn’t been on TV in decades, and soap actor Antonio Sabato Jr., better known as a former underwear model.
But the Democratic National Convention had celebs to spare: Perry sang. Elizabeth Banks mocked. Dunham and America Ferrera declared Trump is “making America hate again.” Meryl Streep dressed in a stars- and-stripes dress and let out a primal scream for Clinton. Bernie Sanders arrived with a strong and pas- sionate stable of A- list endorsers, but by the end, led by comedian and Sanders supporter Sarah Silverman, most of them were embracing Clinton.
“Trump embarrassed himself with the level of celebs,” says veteran Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman, founder of Fifteen Minutes PR. “The Democrats’ convention, you could have watched it as a variety show.”
As everyone knows, Hollywood leans liberal Democrat, so Trump’s lack of celebrity luster ( other than his own) isn’t surprising, says journalism professor Mark Feldstein of the University of Maryland. Trump’s problem is that the more he campaigns and the more he talks, the less likely he is to acquire Hollywood fans, Feldstein says.
“Trump has become such a stigma, he doesn’t even have the support of a traditional GOP candidate,” Feldstein says. “Clinton isn’t cool, but Trump is so radioactive in most of Hollywood, by default she gets the support of a traditional liberal bastion, if she keeps her head.”
Besides, she has been working Hollywood for decades. What makes Trump’s campaign different is that he isn’t trying that hard. And he says he doesn’t need to raise money from Hollywood donors.
“Trump is not trying to cultivate celebrities to be at his side,” says presidential historian Douglas Brinkley of Rice University in Texas. “He is the top of the celebrity food chain; he doesn’t need an entourage. He’s able to carry that mountain himself, particularly on Twitter, where he’s in command of his brand every day.”
Trump has even discouraged some of his boldfaced friends — Tom Brady, for instance — from publicly endorsing him in case it interferes with their careers or commercial affiliations.
“If Trump is already playing this like his celebrity- based reality program, doesn’t whoever he brings out end up being redundant?” asks Robert Thompson, a professor and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. “Why does he need star power when he presented this ( campaign) as a one- man show?”
Thompson says most voters feel strongly about their political leanings; it’s part of their identity and more powerful than how they may feel about a popular celebrity.
“You’re not going to go over to the other side just because you like Clint Eastwood so much,” Thompson says.
Looked at scientifically, the value of celeb endorsements is usually more ephemeral than factual, with one recent exception: the Oprah- for- Obama endorsement during the 2007- 2008 primary campaign against Clinton. According to Craig Garthwaite, who co- wrote a study of the endorsement when he was at the University of Maryland ( he’s now an assistant professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University), Winfrey was responsible for moving about 1 million votes to Obama in his quest for the Democratic nomination. ( This year, Winfrey endorsed Clinton.)
Garthwaite says his research showed Winfrey was effective because she was a celebrity of “nearly unparalleled popularity” at the time, who influenced her fan base ( white women) to vote for Obama over a white woman with similar policy positions. Winfrey increased Obama’s share of the vote in the primary, increased his campaign donations and increased overall voter participation, he says.
“I would be surprised if celebrity endorsements were a factor ( in 2016), because we don’t have celebrities ( like Oprah) with 8 million tuning in to a daily talk show and a proven ability to move products, and because the media is more fragmented now,” Garthwaite says.
The real value of a celeb endorsement these days may be financial, if the celeb is seen as politically savvy and authentic, Schneiderman says.
“We live in a celebrity culture, and knowing that a celebrity is attached or on board helps with raising money,” he says. “But it has to be the right celebrity. Leonardo DiCaprio is a perfect example: He puts his money where his mouth is, he researches causes, he has organizations he’s created. George Clooney is another. They’re not just looking for fame, they’re literally working on issues.”