Two decades ago it would have seemed difficult to understand that the current leader of the free world was a former television personality with zero political experience. However, in today’s political climate, the trend to not participate in the traditional route of politics is being normalized. The trend is not only occurring in America but also in other countries around the world. Take Ukraine for example, where a comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who played a president on a popular TV show, beat the incumbent to become their president.

Despite celebrities running for office being a relatively new phenomenon, past examples have not evaded the history books. One of the most notable being Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood actor who starred in 53 films over a 20-year span, and later became President in the 1980s. However, Reagan’s past career included time served as a union leader and governor of California, in addition to being a Hollywood actor.

The prominence of celebrity involvement in today’s’ politics has been perpetuated by the presence of social media. Which allows for celebrities to reach millions of fans in seconds, condoning or praising decisions and actions. These heightened platforms have increased the expectation that those with influence should do just that: Influence.

This influence can be relatively small, through simply stating support for presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton received from the likes of Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, and Morgan Freeman. During the 2016 Election, Ariana Grande had around 60 million Instagram followers with whom she shared her frustrations over President-Elect Donald Trump’s win. Though, celebrity endorsements do have their limitations. After all, they were not sufficient enough to warrant a win for Hillary Clinton. This might show that celebrity endorsements are usually useful in increasing support of already likable candidates rather than changing voters’ minds.

More substantial impacts in politics by celebrities using their platform to aid and catalyze change can have profound impacts. Arnold Schwarzenegger was Governor of California between 2003-2011. His impact is evident in his signing of the 2006 global warming solutions act, addressing his and many Californian’s concerns over climate change. However, it is not essential to take office to make an impact. An unlikely source of political involvement is from reality-television personality Kim Kardashian. When she utilized her A list status in aiding efforts to put pressure on Donald Trump to grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a non–violent drug offense committed in 1996. It would be harder for someone with the same passion on the social issue to influence the President without the level of influence celebrities like Kim Kardashian have.

So what will the future bring? With the seemingly never-ending growth in social media, it is highly likely that celebrity involvement in politics will only continue to increase in the future. It is plausible that Homer Simpson could be the next President, but we’ll have to wait for the Simpsons to predict it first!

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Jessica Dando Jessica Dando is an 18 year old political journalist from the UK. As a student of Politics and International Relations she is passionate about giving a voice to the younger generation to help shape the political decisions of tomorrow.

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