As the election approaches on Nov. 5, both major candidates are looking to gain as many votes as they can. In the past few months, many different celebrities and public figures have come out and publicly endorsed or given their support to either campaign.
Social studies teacher Mike Nordean said celebrity endorsements are a valuable tool for candidates to use to help reach those who don’t pay attention to politics and the election.
“(Celebrity endorsements) are important. I find that oftentimes people who are limited in their ability or desire to educate themselves listen to those that they find to be important,” Nordean said. “Celebrity endorsements are important to the political process to help edify people who don’t necessarily follow politics.”
Senior Jude Sadovsky said celebrities with large influences, such as Taylor Swift, are impactful endorsements for candidates to have.
“Celebrities like Taylor Swift who have a massive following will help to gain popularity because so many people know who she is and listen to her music,” Sadovsky said. “It’s a good way to get the attention of the masses towards a candidate.”
Senior Alan Gardner said when large figures state their political support for candidates and issues, it doesn’t often change his point of view on the topics.
“If somebody I pay attention to is starting to get political with their ideas I will sometimes stop, listen and hear what they have to say,” Gardner said. “I usually don’t let it affect me that much. I’m already grounded in my own ideas.”
According to Sadovsky, celebrities should be aware of the real policy that the candidates plan to enact when elected before giving their public endorsement.
“(Celebrities) should still focus on more practical ideas that the candidates have instead of just endorsing candidates for the values they show in their campaigns,” Sadovsky said. “They have to have a clear view of what is happening.”
According to Nordean, public figures have a powerful platform that they can use to message their large audience.
“It’s an awesome responsibility that celebrities, whether it’s athletes or performers, have in our country,” Nordean said. “They have an awesome responsibility to show what somebody else might not recognize.“
Gardner said candidates have been utilizing social media platforms to try to gain more support from the online space.
“A lot of candidates right now are gravitating towards social platforms like TikTok, especially famous people on that platform,” Gardner said.” If that’s what they think is going to get them the most votes then that is going to be very beneficial to their campaign.”
According to Nordean, celebrities have been the catalyst for a large part of public discourse and debate on many issues, being an important part of our political history and processes in the US.
“As long as there have been those (celebrity) entities, they have had political commentary in our country. Going back to Jesse Owens standing on the Olympic stage and holding his hand up in the air, winning, and others who have stood there and united behind the closed fist because they had the stage to do so,” Nordean said. “That’s always been a part of American politics to have that, to see that, and that’s important.”
