Gone are the days when Bruce Springsteen organized a concert in support of Hillary Clinton. In that case the voting result was not the one hoped for, because the former First Lady and then Secretary of State failed to get the nomination as Democratic presidential candidate. Now another woman is trying again and she does it by winking at the female world of showbiz. For days, in fact, there has been talk of a possible endorsement by Beyoncé, another star in the music world, in favor of Kamala Harris. For now there is no official support, even if the singer has allowed her song “Freedom” to be used in a video of the Democratic electoral campaign. The party, therefore, is currently “satisfied” with the support of Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, while it goes hunting for new “supporters” in the world of celebrities.
Robert de Niro, a fierce opponent of Donald Trump, has never failed to vote for the donkey party, even when the official candidate was still Joe Biden. Remaining in the world of cinema, the endorsement of George Clooney has arrived timidly, the first fundraiser of the Democratic Party, very close to Barack Obama and among those who publicly supported Biden’s step back. Silence, however, from his wife, Amal Alamuddin. Director Spike Lee and actress Barbra Streisand are pro-Harris, along with Nick Offerman, Jane Fonda and Ben Stiller, with the latter having participated in “Comics for Harris”, a virtual meeting via Zoom that took place in early August with the aim of raising funds for the electoral campaign of the current American vice president.
Cynthia Nixon from “Sex in the City” also applauded Kamala Harris’ decision to run for the White House, although most of the supporters come from the music world: star Charli XCX joined the chorus of enthusiastic voices that also includes Kesha. The latter, in fact, went further, addressing Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance with an eloquent «f—- that man». Also announcing their intention to vote for Harris are John Legend, who said on Instagram that he was «so ready» for a Harris presidency, Olivia Rodrigo, known for her activism in favor of women’s rights and against «Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans», and Katy Perry. The pop star “offered” her new song “Woman’s World” as a pillar of support for Kamala Harris, sharing a video on Instagram titled “Momala,” which features the Democratic candidate dancing and laughing.
In short, The Democratic Party is looking for the celebrity endorsement that Biden was struggling to come by. But who is supporting Donald Trump? The name that has caused the most discussion in the last few hours is that of Robert Jr. Kennedy. The son of Bobby, killed in 1968 while he was running for the White House and nephew of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was also assassinated in Dallas in 1963, has renounced his candidacy and offered his support to The Donald. Despite coming from one of the most influential Democratic families in the US, the 70-year-old has long been very critical of the party and left it to become an independent. Close to anti-vax positions, he has attracted criticism from his brothers and sisters precisely because of his support, for what they defined on social media as “a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold dear”.
Among the other endorsements received by Trump there is also that of Elon Musk: the owner of Tesla and the social platform X (formerly Twitter), which also hosted an interview with the former US president, could also join the government team in the event of Trump’s victory. This was declared by the Republican candidate himself Reutershypothesizing a possible “consultation”, provided that the richest man in the world “is willing to accept it”. As for the world of music and film stars, pro-Trump statements have also come from rapper, model and TV star Amber Rose, Kanye West and Kid Rock, who was a guest at the White House in 2018 and who today declares: “I don’t support Trump because he’s a saint, but because he loves to win and isn’t afraid to break the rules. I want someone like him on my team”. Two country singers who are less known in Italy, but very popular in the Stateslike Lee Greenwood, who performed his famous song “God Bless the USA” during the Republican convention, and Chris Janson, who also took to the stage at the event with his “All American Guy”. If 50 Cent alternated between pro and pro-Trump phrases, Hulk Hogan certainly didn’t hesitate to intervene during Trump’s official inauguration, calling him his “hero” and “the greatest president of the United States”. Finally, among those who have never hidden their sympathies for the Republican candidate, there is Scott Baio, formerly of “Happy Days” (he played Chachi Arcola), even if at the moment there are no official statements in view of the November vote.
And Taylor Swift? There is no doubt that the pop star is the most contested by the two candidates: being able to have her support could guarantee a certain number of extra votes. Perhaps this is why a post appeared on Trump’s social network. Truthwhich implied an endorsement by the star of the moment and his fans. The image, in which people are seen wearing a T-shirt with the words Swiefties for Trumphowever, is the result of artificial intelligence, as are those, in the same photo collage, in which the 34-year-old is seen dressed as Uncle Sam urging people to vote for the tycoon. At the moment she has not expressed any preference, even though she had supported Biden in the past. Maximum caution also for Michael Bloomberg, who spoke of a decision «too important to rush», therefore too important to be taken by haste, as well as for the actress Julia Roberts and the number 1 of Vogue Anna Wintour.
One question remains: is the support of celebrities necessary for the success of the electoral campaign? Of course, having stars on your side can influence some voting intentions, but according to analysts, the game might not be worth the candle. Returning to the example of Bruce Springsteen, his endorsement did not bring good luck to candidate Hillary Clinton. Maybe she would not have managed to win the race for the nomination anyway, but the risk is that the massive endorsement of illustrious people, especially popular, billionaires and those with a comfortable life, makes the candidate perceived as too distant from ordinary people, with an inevitable boomerang effect.
