Can political endorsements from stars like Taylor Swift bring about change? | USA 2024

President Joe Biden is bringing in some big names for a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles this Saturday in hopes of garnering more support and big money.

The campaign is targeting Hollywood A-listers, with George Clooney and Julia Roberts teaming up with former President Barack Obama for an event expected to raise millions of dollars, after which Mr Biden and Mr Obama will be interviewed by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

The event came just days after former President Donald Trump, during a visit to Washington, reportedly expressed “surprise” that pop superstar Taylor Swift had not yet endorsed him as a presidential candidate. But Trump is gradually garnering support from other celebrities, including country singer Jason Aldean, and models Amber Rose and Jon Voight.

Hollywood traditionally casts the majority of its support behind Democratic candidates, and Biden appears to have the strongest celebrity following, but the jury is still out on how important celebrities are to voters.

For decades, political campaigns have sought celebrity endorsements to get ahead in the November election. John T. Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Institute for Public Policy at Southern Illinois University, called it “one of the enduring rituals of American politics.”

“Every campaign does that, or at least tries to,” he says. “Celebrities can help bring a little bit of attention to a campaign – they can promote events, help with fundraising, give testimonials, film commercials, and reach millions of people through social media.”

But he also noted there’s no compelling evidence that celebrity endorsements make a big difference to campaigning.

“Celebrities can command attention, but it’s notoriously difficult to get a message across,” he says. “Their success and notoriety can anger and alienate people as much as it can fascinate and inspire them.”

A smart campaign, Shaw said, would “gain the endorsement of famous people who are widely respected for their decency, their judgment and their common sense”, adding that celebrities should not be expected to “make sales”.

“Campaigns, and candidates in particular, have to do that,” he says.

However, some studies have shown that critical endorsements do have a positive impact.

In recent months, the Biden campaign has seen a steady stream of A-listers pledge their support, most of them in their own unique way.

Standing outside the Manhattan courthouse where President Trump’s New York hush money trial concluded in late May, veteran actor Robert De Niro had some harsh words for the president.

“When Trump ran for president in 2016, it was like a joke,” De Niro said. “An idiot like that running for president? No way. We’d forgotten the lessons of history of other buffoons who weren’t taken seriously until they became brutal dictators.”

The actor, who won an Oscar for his performance as a gangster, yelled back at Trump supporters who were hurling obscenities at him, calling them “gangsters.”

In August, director Steven Spielberg will take part in a storytelling effort at the Democratic National Convention, and A-list performers Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and James Taylor have also joined Biden on the campaign trail, performing for the president’s donors.

And this weekend’s fundraiser is expected to draw millions of dollars in donations: A similar event in New York City in March raised a record $25 million for the campaign, and organizers of the Los Angeles event have already launched a text message campaign to collect donations.

Endorsements for Biden from a largely left-leaning industry are not unprecedented: Obama secured endorsements from rapper Jay-Z and singer Beyonce in 2008, while Hillary Clinton received support from stars including Katy Perry, De Niro and Elton John in 2016.

Since first running for president in 2016, Trump has consistently courted and welcomed endorsements from some unlikely figures in the entertainment industry.

Model and TV personality Amber Rose recently shocked fans when she posed with President Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump in May. Her support in an Instagram post came eight years after she called President Trump a “fucking moron” in a 2016 interview with New York Magazine.

Other supporters include veteran actress Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier” fame, actress Roseanne Barr, former football player Brett Favre and actor Dennis Quaid.

For now, it’s clear Swift’s opinion is unclear: the pop mogul, who has a huge influence on the younger generation, has yet to voice her support ahead of November.

Swift, a thoroughly left-leaning entertainer, endorsed Biden in 2020 and has already been openly approached by the campaign on social media and in press releases.

As an example of her star power, in 2023 she encouraged millions of fans to sign up, with a single post directing them to the nonprofit Vote.org, which led to more than 35,000 registrations. But her track record has been mixed: In 2018, she endorsed two Democratic candidates in Tennessee, both of whom lost.

But Swift’s enormous influence with her huge fanbase is something Biden, and now Trump, covet.

In an interview last year, Trump described the singer as “very beautiful” but lamented her left-leaning politics, saying, “I think she’s a liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump.”