‘Vote for my guy’ is just as meaningless coming from a celebrity as from your neighbor’s yard sign.
‘Vote for my guy’ is just as meaningless coming from a celebrity as from your neighbor’s yard sign.
A t the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in the summer of 1960, a cavalcade of stars took the stage in the L.A. Convention Hall to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” A number of them, including Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, and Milton Berle, were there to support the presidential aspirations of then-senator John F. Kennedy.
When asked for comment about celebrities supporting the Democrat, Republican John Wayne growled, “Let the Democrats spend all their money and make a lot of noise. They haven’t got a chance in November.”
(Editor’s note: They had a chance in November.)
Kennedy’s star-studded support was notable at the time because it was an anomaly. In 1960, the public didn’t particularly care if their celebrities were involved in politics, and they certainly weren’t swayed by big names telling them how to vote.
But here we are in 2024, when everyone is dying to tell you not only whom they are voting for but for whom you should vote. It is now accepted that it is your civic duty to overshare, broadcasting what was once a secret between you and the levers inside the voting booth.
In the social-media age, celebrity politicking — by every reality star, sports legend, and musician — has gotten so ubiquitous, some famous people face condemnation for choosing to be nonpolitical.
A few weeks ago, former professional wrestler and current movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced that he wouldn’t be endorsing any candidate in the 2024 presidential election. (Imagine how that sentence would look to someone in, say, 1980.)
The Rock told Fox News’ Will Cain that he regretted endorsing Joe Biden in 2020. “The takeaway after that was it caused an incredible amount of division,” he said. “I realize now going into this election, I will not do that. My goal is to bring this country together. I believe in that. There will be no endorsement. At this level of influence, I will keep my politics to myself.”
Johnson further decried “cancel culture” and “woke culture,” saying that those things “bugged” him.
Predictably, The Rock was castigated by those who feel that the world needs a human protein shake to tell them how to vote. MSNBC contributor Ja’han Jones accused Johnson of throwing “Black people under the bus,” linking him to Trump-friendly business interests. The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill derided Johnson’s “political cowardice.”
Perhaps the idea that human brains are malleable to the point that a celebrity endorsement can tip an election is endemic to progressive philosophy. After all, these are the same people pitching the public on the idea that we’ll be happier when we’re forced to buy expensive electric vehicles.
But literally nobody sane cares whom The Rock is voting for, just as nobody cares whom mainstream media outlets want you to vote for.
Last week, New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn told Semafor that he didn’t think it was the role of a newspaper to explicitly support a single candidate. Kahn conceded that “there are people out there in the world who may decide, based on their democratic rights, to elect Donald Trump as president,” adding: “It is not the job of the news media to prevent that from happening. It’s the job of Biden and the people around Biden to prevent that from happening.” (Ironically, at the same time, the paper is trying to drag previously nonpolitical celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld into the world of politics.)
Needless to say, the left treated Kahn as if he had taken a puppy out back to the gravel pit and shot it.
Indeed, the quickest way for a publication to lose credibility is to shill for a candidate. At that point, it has effectively joined a campaign, steeping itself in the least serious and most disreputable bailiwick of politics. Readers then process everything an outlet writes as an attempt to get one or the other guy elected.
Nonetheless, certain outlets and media figures persist in accusing Never Trumpers who are, say, uneasy with Joe Biden’s weakness on Israel of trying to help Trump win in 2024. They trot out the “binary choice” canard, arguing that a vote for anyone other than Biden is effectively a vote for Trump.
But this is a false choice — deciding not to vote or to choose a third option is also political participation, and it’s just as much an expression of political will as supporting a bad candidate. As Charles Spurgeon counseled, “Of two evils, choose neither.”
That philosophy is problematic for the voting nags. When writing about former House speaker Paul Ryan’s declaration that he would not be voting for Trump or Biden, Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin quipped, “This is not the way to prevent Trump from becoming president.” Social-media users hammered Ryan in the belief that a vote for someone other than Biden is a vote for Trump.
But no politician should earn a vote by default. If Joe Biden has stood against everything Ryan has believed in for his entire political career, Ryan is under no obligation to endorse those objectionable positions with his ballot. And, more practically, a vote by a Republican for someone other than Trump is one vote fewer for Trump. Depending on which state you live in, it does ultimately have an effect on the outcome.
The reporters and columnists telling you whom to vote for are really just frustrated political operatives dying to feel that they’re making a difference. Like Oscar Wilde’s contention that only the poor think about money, only those without real influence concern themselves with telling others how to vote. They can’t accept that the only responsible path is to express their views on politics and culture honestly. If that inspires people to vote a certain way, so be it.
Otherwise, discussing whom you’re voting for is just crass. It’s too much exposure, like taking your pants off at a nice restaurant during a first date. Better to leave a little mystery before the more intimate business takes place.
Think how much more fun the world used to be before politics swallowed everything. You could have lifelong friends and have no idea which candidates they supported. Now, politics becomes their whole personality. They become a human yard sign, demonstrating “correct” views while changing nobody’s mind.
Endorsements from politicians and celebrities are just as meaningless as your neighbor’s bumper sticker.
In her autobiography, Tina Fey expresses regret that a bit she once performed on Saturday Night Live came off as an endorsement of Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama. “I would have chosen to stop being overtly political if I’d had more time to smooth [the bit] out,” she writes, “because one: I think it’s more powerful for comedians and news anchors to be impartial, and two: I am a coward.”
Fey is right. Your decision to vote for one guy over another is the most boring thing about you, and your attempt to persuade other people to vote for that guy is the most irritating thing about you. With apologies to Robert Frost, two roads diverge in the woods, and if one leads to Joe Biden and the other leads to Donald Trump, turn around and go get a burrito.