Washington.- When Robert De Niro appeared outside a Manhattan courtroom to condemn Donald Trump as his hush money trial in New York was winding down, he sparked a shouting match with a nearby group of the former president’s supporters.
“You guys are gangsters!” De Niro, who won an Oscar for The Godfather Part II, shouted at Trump supporters, who responded with obscenities.
There are still plenty more Hollywood stories to come in the 2024 campaign: Celebrities are increasingly lending their star power to President Joe Biden, hoping to encourage their fans to vote for him in November and woo donors to contribute to his re-election effort.
On Saturday, celebrities George Clooney and Julia Roberts will join former President Barack Obama at a Biden fundraiser in Los Angeles, where the three will be interviewed by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Roberts and Kimmel have already begun soliciting donations via text messages for Biden, who will skip a weekend peace conference on Ukraine being held in Switzerland to attend the event.
Director Steven Spielberg is involved in storytelling efforts for the Democratic National Convention in August. Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and James Taylor have performed for Biden donors.
Others who sent fundraising emails, hosted events or otherwise provided support include The White Lotus’ Connie Britton, singer-songwriter Carole King, Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes, singer Christina Aguilera, The Equalizer actress Queen Latifah. and Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who appeared in the White House briefing room last month to personally praise the president.
And in another case, blurring the lines between real life and fantasy, during a fundraiser at the home of veteran actor Michael Douglas, Biden, the real president, congratulated the star of the 1996 hit The American President on the success of his fictitious administration.
Star power at the polls
However, for all the celebrity fans, there is little expectation that they will be able to determine the votes. Rather, they are considered to have the ability to inject enthusiasm that helps energize followers.
Lexi Underwood, whose credits include the streaming series Little Fires Everywhere, calls acting a “contact sport” that allows her to interact with audiences and determines her to use her influence responsibly. She recently participated in a virtual “Students for Biden” event and traveled to Nevada to appear at campaign events focused on women’s health issues.
“I’m very lucky to have certain eyes on me,” Underwood, 20, said. “I feel really responsible for making sure that what I put out there, either people are informed about things that they weren’t previously informed about, or that I’m motivating them to get out and vote.”
Biden’s campaign says its primary goal is to find authentic, trustworthy messengers who can promote the president’s political achievements and sound the alarm about the “extremism” of the Republican Party, and that means deploying both rank-and-file supporters and celebrities.
Taylor Swift Effect
David Schmid, a professor at the University at Buffalo who studies pop culture, said one celebrity with enormous political influence could be Taylor Swift, who even caused a stir in the NFL last season. She endorsed Biden in 2020 and this time her campaign is openly courting her on social media.
However, your touch is no guarantee of victory. In 2018, Swift endorsed two Democratic candidates in Tennessee who lost. Schmid said that even someone as famous as Swift “knows things are polarizing and doesn’t want to take any major risks” on contentious issues and candidates.
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