America Is Not So Sweet on the Idea of Another Celebrity President
Even before Donald Trump was elected president four years ago, commentators and analysts wondered if celebrities were the future of American politics. Given the importance of name recognition in national elections, and the fact that government experience is often seen as a negative by voters, it stands to reason that TV and film personalities now have a considerable advantage over more traditional candidates for office. And that thesis has been borne out not only by the example of Trump, but by celebrities-turned-politicians like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, and Al Franken.
But the results of our Celebrities Who Should Run for President list suggests that Americans are less excited about the prospect of celeb politicians than some people imagine. Every single person on the list, with the exception of Tom Hanks, has a significantly higher number of downvotes than upvotes, meaning that the majority of voters are opposed to virtually any celebrity running for office.
What we’ve found is that voters tend to be excited about the possibility of celebrity candidates in the abstract, but quickly lose enthusiasm when and if they actually run for office. As we explained in our blog about Kanye West, Ye’s position on this list started falling almost immediately after he announced he would be running for president. In case you’re wondering whether West’s controversial platform was what made him so toxic to Ranker readers, consider another example: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
NOTE: This graph maps the position of Dwayne Johnson on our Celebrities Who Should Run for President list. Keep in mind that the graph is a little counterintuitive, as a trend upward in this line actually indicates that Johnson has gone down on the list (because the most favored candidate is at #1). For example, though the line graph goes down from late 2018 through most of 2019, it means that Johnson actually went up on our list during that period. A line trending upward means Johnson is becoming a less appealing presidential candidate, while a line trending downward means his candidacy is becoming more popular. Get it? Got it? Good.
