We live in a time where celebrities intrude upon every crevice of the mind. They crowd our screens, are referenced in our books, mentioned in our daily conversations, and now in politics. And it’s not that people want them to leave the discourse; in fact, fans have gotten upset when their celebrity of choice has not made an endorsement. Earlier this year, fans were upset at Taylor Swift for not endorsing a candidate, and claimed that the democrat secretly supported Trump. Fans also got mad at Chappell Roan for refusing to endorse a candidate and claiming that there were issues with both sides. Roan had to eventually say that she was voting for Harris to stop the backlash. As this proves, people care about celebrities’ opinions, including their political beliefs. The question is, however: do these endorsements actually make a difference?
As stated earlier, Taylor Swift made some of her fans angry by not endorsing Harris, as she endorsed democrats before. However, on the night of the presidential debate, she officially endorsed Harris. In the past, she supported democrats for the House and Senate in Tennessee and, in 2020, supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in their presidential bid. Swift’s endorsement of Harris and Walz included a link to register to vote. Approximately 406,000 people clicked on this link, driving a 585% spike in the website’s user numbers. This is clearly a big accomplishment, especially if a fair amount of these people lived in swing states, but as Donald Trump officially won the 2024 election (and the majority of the battleground states), the impact was clearly not big enough.
Another celebrity who endorsed Harris and Walz was Jennifer Lawrence, best known for her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games movies. In 2020, she told V Magazine that she was voting for Biden, and in September of this year, the actress told People that she was voting for Harris since, “abortion is literally on the ballot.” On November 1st, Lawrence campaigned for Harris in Las Vegas, including going door to door. Nevada has been called for Trump, with Las Vegas being one of the only two blue counties in it. Other than her campaigning, her endorsement does not seem to have made an effect, or not a large enough one to be reported on.
One more celebrity who endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz was the basketball player Stephen Curry. He endorsed Biden and Harris in 2020 and, through video, endorsed Harris at the 2024 DNC (Democratic National Convention). Dr. Alicia Grant, a political scientist, said that Curry’s endorsement “helps frame [Harris] as a candidate who aligns with the values of progressive-minded voters.” Although he was supposed to have an impact among young voters, clearly it wasn’t enough to make an actual difference.
On the other side of the aisle: the most notable celebrity endorsement of Trump was by Elon Musk. He endorsed Trump in a tweet and showed up at two of his rallies: one in Butler, Pennsylvania and another at Madison Square Garden. On November 12th, Donald Trump made Musk the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, a new department that will, according to Trump, “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Prior to this election, Musk endorsed Andrew Yang, an independent, in his presidential bid. This clearly did not have an impact, but Musk may have actually made a difference in this year’s election. He created a political action committee, also known as a PAC, called the America PAC, which helped canvas for the Republican party in swing states. Elon Musk gave over $75 million to this organization. As Trump won all the swing states, it is plausible to think that Musk’s organization and the funding he gave it could have made an impact.
Another celebrity who endorsed Trump is Brett Favre, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and three time MVP. In the past, he supported two Republicans for the Senate, both of whom won. Favre endorsed Trump when he appeared at his rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin on October 30th. Although Trump claimed that Favre “got bigger applause than me,” he doesn’t seem to have made any impact in this election.
A third celebrity who endorsed Trump is the second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin. He claimed that during Trump’s first presidency, “the nation’s defense was enhanced with the creation of the U.S. Space Force,” and that the country had a “revitalized interest in space.” In the past, Aldrin endorsed republican Dan Crenshaw of Texas for the House. Neither of these endorsements seem to have made a big difference.
So, do celebrity endorsements make a difference? When looking at these six celebrities, only two seem to have made an impact: Taylor Swift and Elon Musk. Does this mean that celebrities should stop sharing their political opinions? No, celebrities, just like everyone else, are entitled to share their opinions. However, the notion that a celebrity endorsement would make a big difference and harassing a celebrity for not making one is a practice that needs to be stopped. For most celebrities, it clearly does not make any difference, and even for the ones who did make one, it most likely did not change the course of the election.
