Trump famously changes face of celebrity politics
I was in line for coffee in the Financial District the other day when a guy behind us blurted out, “I know we live in a bubble here, but has the rest of the country turned into one big reality show?” Yep, and we’ve only seen the first act. Donald Trump has transformed more than the Republican Party. He has transformed politics, period. With his celebrity status as his only credential, he’s trampolined over the media and other purveyors of conventional wisdom and has a genuine shot at becoming president.
It’s similar to what Arnold Schwarzenegger did when he blew the doors off the 2003 recall of Gray Davis and got himself elected governor, but it goes far beyond that. Schwarzenegger at least had dab-
bled in politics, funding a ballot measure that paid for after-school programs. He never made the case for himself quite as baldly as Trump, who essentially is saying, “I’m famous. I hear you. Vote for me.”
And believe me, as much as the insiders and pundits publicly decry the shallowness of celebrity politics, privately they will be sizing up potential candidates from here on out for their brand and marketability.
If you doubt it, just ask yourself, how do you think California Democrats would react if George Clooney decided to run for governor or U.S. Senate?
You may laugh, but it would be no joke to Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris.
There must have been 1,000 people packed into the Fairmont Hotel grand ballroom for the 160th anniversary celebration of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce the other day. If you were having a problem with the city, it was the place to be. Practically every department head was there.
Daniel Lurie, head of the Tipping Point charity network, was the keynote speaker. He told how Tipping Point has given out $100 million over 10 years to nonprofits without taking a dime for administrative costs. And how he has been helping people since he was 12 years old.
Lurie was so impressive that I want to be the first to suggest that Mayor Ed Lee appoint him as the city’s new homelessness czar. Give him one of those $1-a-year pay deals, and set him loose on Division Street. It would help the city, and it would help Lurie beef up his resume for when he runs for mayor himself. Hey, you never know.
After the Fairmont breakfast, I had to hustle over to
the Megan Furth Academy fundraiser luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel. I wound up sharing a table with Supervisors David Campos and London Breed. If Breed is still miffed at Campos for having hijacked the Black Lives Matter mantle with his call for a Mario Woods remembrance day, she didn’t show it.
Nice event. I’d say they took in about $1 million.
From there it was back to work, then home to change into a dark suit for another trip up Nob Hill to the Fairmont — this time for the Commonwealth Club gala, where 49ers owners John and Jed York were in attendance.
It was interesting to watch how the 49ers fans in the diplomatic crowd interacted with the Yorks. Lots of compliments on the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, very little talk about the Niners’ prospects for next season.
I was walking out of the Hotel Vitale when a cabbie asked me, “Mr. Mayor, is anyone at City Hall ever going to pay attention to us?” Not likely. At the airport the other
day, there were more than a dozen cabs waiting for customers, while 15 people lined up waiting for their lifts from Uber, Lyft and the like.
It’s common now to see people flagging down cars with the ubiquitous “U” on their dash, something that in theory is against the law.
Wednesday night I grabbed a cab at the Fairmont to go to Omni. The cabbie told me he had worked 10½ hours the day before, but that after gas and fees and taxes to the city he had netted only $35.
I gave him $10 for a $5 ride.
Movie time: “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.” This “dramedy” starring Tina Fey as a TV war correspondent should have been titled “Delta Oscar Alpha,” because it’s DOA.
Fey is a great comedian, but not such a great dramatic actress. Drinking whiskey then going dancing is a better use of your time.
“The Perfect Match”: Three black guys are lifelong buddies — two want normal lives and the third wants to be P. Diddy. Between the laughs, we get a view of what it’s like to be thirtysomething, African American and moving up in the world — not trying to be part of Black Lives Matter, but not trying to be white, either.
It was a big night on the Gold Coast as some 20 friends gathered for Ann Getty’s 75th birthday send-up. Front and center at the sit-down dinner were Gov. Jerry Brown and wife Anne Gust Brown. The toasts started with former Secretary of State George Shultz, followed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
People may not know it, but Brown and the Gettys go way back. During Jerry’s first go-round as governor, he appointed longtime Getty family friend Bill Newsom to the Superior Court bench. And for years, Brown was a regular at the Gettys’ Sunday dinners.
Getty even tried to set up Jerry once with Arianna Huffington.
Luckily for Jerry, he was busy with Linda Ronstadt. Then he got serious, and went with Ms. Anne.