As Election Day quickly approaches on Nov. 5, countless celebrities have publicly endorsed Donald Trump or Kamala Harris’s campaigns or simply urged their supporters to register to vote and hit the polls in November. It is almost impossible for anyone to ignore the relationship that pop culture and politics have, sparking a greater conversation about why these endorsements mean so much. Artists like Chappell Roan and Pharrell Williams often ask the same question and have recently faced backlash for refusing to give in to the growing pressure to back a candidate.
Truth be told, most Americans don’t sit at home and have philosophical conversations with their family and friends about the political and economic state of the world, though Jaden Smith would like to. And if we’re all being honest, most voters will go to the polls and vote solely based on their party affiliation or because they feel strongly about one issue. With all this being said, does it really matter to voters who Billie Eilish or Sexyy Red are voting for?
Though many political scientists and election experts may disagree with me, I would argue that the short answer is yes, but of course, it’s more complicated than that.
Follow Me on Instagram (and to the Polls)
All celebrities, from micro-influencers on TikTok to A-list powerhouses, have one thing in common: the ability to use their fame, money, and followers to create trends and influence the public’s opinion. This is why we see Super Bowl ads with every celebrity on the planet or social media influencers creating sponsored content for a number of different brands. The allure of celebrity is present in almost every aspect of our lives and its prominence has a stronghold over us because many people shape their identities around the trends set they set.
If Bella Hadid posted a picture on Instagram at a coffee shop in New York City wearing a trash bag and mini UGGs, I would bet $100 that the coffee shop would soon have a line around the corner, and trash bags and mini UGGs would be all the rage and sold out everywhere. With the use of social media, the influence celebrities have over society is inescapable. One example of this was in 2015 after Kylie Jenner opened up about getting lip filler. Suddenly, every girl on your Instagram feed also had lip filler or did their makeup to achieve that same look.
The marketing scheme here is simple: if the public sees someone they admire and adore with a product, they will, in turn, admire and adore that product.
Now, replace the word “product” with the name of any political candidate. The principle and the end goal are the same, but instead of buying a product, the campaign is buying your vote. Don’t be fooled — these campaigns know that a celebrity endorsement changes the game because they gain not just one vote, but potentially millions without doing much. In the same way that candidates will have rallies in specific cities in specific states, they will also use certain songs in their ads, go on different podcasts, or handpick influencers and celebrities to attend their campaign events. It’s all an effort to use that celebrity’s fame, money, power, and followers to rally support for their campaign, and this has happened in every election in the last century.
Influence Is Power, And Celebrities Have a Lot
I would argue that celebrity endorsements are essential to winning an election, not because their support will change the minds of millions of voters, but because they get people talking. That is the first step in the voting process. Conversations about the candidates and their policies, your voter registration status, and how and when you plan on voting are the most important conversations to any election because, without them, no one would vote. But for people who don’t closely follow American politics, how do these conversations start? Answer: by making it impossible to avoid them.
Enter, the countless analyses of Kamala Harris’s “brat” campaign, inspired by a tweet where Charli XCX seemingly supported her run for president. Everyone in the country, regardless of party affiliation, was talking about Harris’ “brat summer” and was the catalyst of the wave of support from Gen-Z voters. It was impossible not to talk about it to the point where people started to forget that Charli XCX, as a Brit, can’t even vote in this election, or any election in the U.S. If that doesn’t speak to the power of celebrity influence, I don’t know what does.
But, Harris is not the only candidate playing this game, nor is she the only one playing it well. It’s no coincidence that Donald Trump invited Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, two NYC drill rappers, to his only rally in the Bronx. Since his win in 2016, Trump has made it a point to create relationships with a number of rappers, like Kanye West and Lil Wayne. He is not terribly popular with Black voters with polls showing that only 15% say they would vote for him, but associating with major names in rap music, a genre created by Black people for Black people, could help turn that around. And it seems to be working, as those same polls show that Harris is struggling to maintain support from Black voters.
With each celebrity endorsement, Trump and Harris are able to reach a new audience and speak to some of the voter groups that their campaign and policies don’t directly target. These endorsements have also been a key part of educating people about how to vote, how to register, and why their vote matters in the first place. Following the presidential debate in September, Taylor Swift posted a picture with her cat on Instagram, urging her 283 million followers to do their research on each candidate, register to vote, and make it clear that she will be voting for Harris and Tim Walz come November. Her post was important not only because she pledged her support for Harris, but because it led over 300,000 people to vote.gov overnight.
Remember, every conversation about elections is an important conversation. Even if those 300,000 people don’t vote for Harris, those are 300,000 people who may not have voted, period. The influence here is mostly in getting people educated and excited about voting, not telling them who to vote for. So, if Bella Hadid is seen wearing her trash bag and mini UGGS while leaving a polling site with an “I Voted!” sticker on Nov. 4, I would bet another $100 that we would have less conversations about her outfit and more about the fact that she voted, and probably about who she voted for.
Even in writing this article, I have hopefully started another election conversation, and I definitely don’t have millions of followers or millions of dollars. Celebrity endorsements may not guarantee a win for any candidate in any election, and we as voters should not be waiting for our favorite celebrities or influencers to post about the election.
In these last few weeks before Election Day, I want to leave you all with one message: your vote is more valuable than you will ever know. So, use it. Especially as a young voter or as a first-time voter, it can also be hard to know where to start. Lucky for you, Her Campus UConn’s very own Bailey Brake wrote all about how to vote in college, and our Instagram has a guide to voting at UConn.