Celebrity endorsements aren’t worth much, but they do tell you something about a presidential candidate.
Does a candidate appeal to suburban moms (Gwyneth Paltrow), techies (Elon Musk), or climate activists (Jane Fonda)? I have a hunch that the most predictable celebrities support the most predictable candidates — of course, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are all in for Elizabeth Warren — but the endorsements of other candidates hint that they might actually have an appeal that extends beyond Hollywood elites. Read on to discover who does this best.
Joe Biden
Joe Biden suffers from a general lack of celebrity endorsements, but he has received the stamp of approval from a couple of other old, white guys: All in the Family actor Rob Reiner and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.
Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have donated to Biden. George Takei, known for playing Mr. Sulu in the original Star Trek series, has also donated. Last spring, however, Takei pleaded with fellow Democrats not to speak ill of any candidate. That sounds like the kind of thing you’d have to say if you supported Biden.
Michael Bloomberg
Judge Judy became Bloomberg’s first celebrity endorsement just this month. “No one comes close to Mike Bloomberg’s executive achievement, government experience, and impactful philanthropy,” she said. “His steady leadership will unite our country and bring us through these very challenging times.” In other words, the judge is just ready for a nanny state.
Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg has a strangely high number of celebrity endorsements for a guy from Indiana. They include Jenna Fischer, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, and Mandy Moore. He’s received donations from Gwyneth Paltrow, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Aniston, and Ryan Reynolds, who also donated to Warren.
MacFarlane said he’s all in for Buttigieg because “whether he wins this round or not, it’s likely this guy will be President one day.”
Amy Klobuchar
Jane Fonda, actress and oft-arrested climate activist, has donated to both Klobuchar and Warren. The Minnesota senator doesn’t have a lot of love from celebrities, but then again, she is polling no higher than 4%.
Bernie Sanders
For a crotchety old man, Bernie Sanders sure knows how to attract “the youths.” The Bernie Bros now include Cardi B, the rapper who really hates taxes and big government and has political aspirations of her own. The Vermont senator has also received donations from actress Shailene Woodley and support from model Emily Ratajkowski.
Then, there’s the endorsement of crotchety old man Danny DeVito. Actor John Cusack supports Sanders because he “will not lie.” Singer Jason Mraz endorsed Sanders even though he’s “tired of seeing old white guys in the White House” because “we need someone to keep draining the swamp.” By expanding it to the rest of the United States, apparently.
Actor and Sanders fan Danny Glover told the New York Times that he’s not sure how much influence celebrities have. “I honestly don’t know, but I don’t abdicate my responsibility as a citizen because I make movies and people like to go to my movies,” he said. “And there are other people supporting him I know — Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon — we can’t wait to get together and campaign for Bernie.”
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is not just the favorite candidate of the liberal media. Turns out, she’s got a crowd of celebrity fans, too. These include vocal anti-Trump couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Rosie O’Donnell, Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye, Roxanne Gay, and, apparently, the Elle magazine editorial board. Actress Scarlett Johansson also endorsed the Massachusetts senator, which makes sense, considering they have both pretended to be someone else.
Andrew Yang
Nicolas Cage would steal the Declaration of Independence for Andrew Yang. Okay, that’s a joke, but the actor’s support for Yang is not. Cage, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Generation Z heartthrob Noah Centineo, and tech entrepreneur Sam Altman have all donated to Yang, according to the presidential candidate. Yang even has the support of Elon Musk and Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino.
As the Washington Examiner previously reported, the list goes on:
Yang’s most interesting celebrity endorsement has to be the nonpolitically correct Dave Chappelle. The comedian will be campaigning for Yang in South Carolina.
Andrew Yang’s celebrity endorsements span various industries, ages, genders, ethnicities, and plenty of other relevant demographics. He has broad appeal, but it’s too bad that it’s still so small. As for the winner of the best celebrity endorsements, Dave Chappelle was right on this one: “I’m Yang Gang.”
