It occurred to me after reading Why Taylor Swift Really Scares Trump On LGBTQ Rights and after a Google search and finding Ivanka Trump slammed after praising Oprah’s speech about sexual abuse despite father’s history that the pop mega-star’s power to influence young voters and knock Trump onto his heels if combined with Oprah’s similar power, what with her magic, would add up to a one-two punch worthy of Muhammad Ali.
Bill Maher makes a good point about Oprah here:
It wouldn’t be a Maher take if he didn’t insult people, and of course there’s plenty of that here. But the comedian’s overall point may have some merit. “Never underestimate the power of being in people’s living rooms for decades. That is what got Trump elected. This is now an, ‘As seen on TV’ kind of country,” Maher said,
Maher finished his argument with a reality that is tough to deny, saying, “There really is no underestimating the value of celebrity in modern American politics.” He then touched on the gullibility of Americans who voted for a huckster like Donald Trump and also bought the mega bestseller book “The Secret” heavily endorsed by Oprah. Maher said, “You know what the secret was? Americans will buy anything, if Oprah tells them to.”
Taylor and Oprah would make the duo a formidable team if they both came front and center to speak out against Trump.
Consider this from Daily Beast:
- Swift called out the Trump administration at the MTV Video Music Awards last Monday night, accepting the award for Video of the Year for her queer anthem, “You Need To Calm Down,” and asking the White House to respond to a petition she’d promoted supporting the Equality Act, the response came less than 24 hours later.
- On Fox News, Kellyanne Conway tried to make light of Swift's clarion call by literally singing the lyrics to Swift’s song, while Fox And Friends—which has acted as an arm of the administration—brought on a guest who mocked Swift.
- The immediate reactions were for good reason. The 29-year-old pop phenomenon who has sold more than 50 million albums has a massive fan base among a young demographic nationally—people who follow her lead. When Swift broke her silence on partisan politics and endorsed Democrats in 2018 in a post to her more than 112 million Instagram followers, a surge in voter registrations followed, enough to scare any seasoned GOP strategist.
It remains to be seen whether Taylor Swift will continue with her activism. I hope she does. What’s not to like about her?
For reasons known only to her and her inner circle Oprah, if a Google search of the past month’s news items for Oprah and Trump suggests, she has decided not to make headlines speaking out against Trump. Marianne Williamson said “Oprah is 'absolutely not' advising me on presidential run,” and as we know Oprah hasn’t made an endorsement of anybody.
Like it or not, and I am in the “not” category, celebrities can have a major impact on elections. Hell, the best and most egregious example of this is a reality television and tabloid star who ended up as the worst and most dangerous president in American history.
Related: See a 2018 list of Trump’s celebrity supporters.