By: Jarray Davis
When it comes to running for president, your word to the people is usually all you have, unless your word is supported by an A-list celebrity.
More and more, celebrities are expressing their views when it comes to the presidential race of 2016. With some just mentioning who they are supporting , others have gone out of their way to endorse and finical support to the candidate of their choice.
In the most recent primary on March 15, the winner for the Republican race was a shocker to most. With Donald Trump leading the way for most of the time, there was no way Ohio Governor John Kasich had a chance.
Then comes along Ohio State Football Head Coach, Urban Meyer. Meyer proclaimed his endorsement and praise for the ability that he feels Kasich could bring to the Oval Office. Following Meyer's announcement, votes for Kasich increased by great measures. Kasich ended up winning Ohio that night and a big reason for that is the nice endorsement that he received.
A little support from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had his weightlifting competition in Ohio the week before, also didn't hurt one bit.
With the huge activity of social media outlets and the ability to follow the life of your favorite celebrity, any politician in the presidential race would love to have someone endorse him/her for one reason: the celebrity's fans will follow them.
Kim Kardashian showed her support of Hillary Clinton via her Instagram with a selfie of her, Clinton and husband Kanye West. Kim has 64.4 million followers on her Instagram. You think this helped Hillary out a little?
Big names bring along big numbers when it comes to the presidential race. Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is using this tactic as an advantage.
Rolling Stone Magazine came out with a statement expressing their support of Clinton as she runs for president. Rolling Stone reaches 23 million monthly people, 66% of whom are from the United States. This means,8 15 million people that read Rolling Stones in the US will go through an article about the support of Hillary Clinton shown by Rolling Stone. This alone, gives Clinton a decent amount of exposure and spotlight without her lifting a finger or saying a word.
Donald Trump has himself a variety of celebrity endorsements also. With the likes of Mike Tyson, Kid Rock, Kirstie Alley, Gary Busey and Dennis Rodman, Trump's celebrity endorsements has helped him when it comes to getting votes from a variety of votes from different areas.
"@realDonaldTrump has been a great friend of mine for many years. We don't need another politician, we need a businessman like Mr. Trump! Trump 2016," tweeted out by Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman.
Most may not realize the effect that these endorsements truly have on the race of the different candidates. With examples shown, celebrity influence brings fans along with them and that brings votes.
Jarray,
ReplyDeleteI think this is an awesome relevant topic, and i'll be really interested to see how our social media involvement with celebrities will be affected by and used to benefit presidential campaigns. Especially with Mr. Trump's upcoming speech at HPU, I think it's great you're writing about this.
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