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A-listers getting involved in politics is nothing new – but Harris faced accusations of being out of touch and out of touch as she rubbed shoulders with Hollywood giants on stage.
So did celebrity endorsements help or hinder Harris’ campaign?
UNSW law professor and democracy expert Rosalind Dixon told 9news.com.au this could have hurt Harris’ chances in the battleground states.
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In 2024, the players watched as Trump slowly reclaimed those key areas.
“It could have had a negative effect among voters who would have increased the perception that Democrats were out of touch with how much economic suffering there was for many ordinary households,” Dixon said.
“It [may have] given the impression that the Democrats are the party of the ‘A list’ and not the party of working people.”
She said that could have encouraged many younger voters to get out and vote.
Dixon, however, described it as potentially “irrelevant and harmful” to middle-aged or older people from economically distressed areas in key hinterland states.
“All in all, I think they probably got it right, but I would back off a bit,” she added.
“I think towards the end it might have been a little too much.”
Jared Mondschein of the Center for United States Studies at the University of Sydney said celebrity endorsers traditionally don’t make much of a difference in campaigns.
He told 9news.com.au it was still too early to tell, but he thought the major A-list push for votes for either party was “less consequential than anyone expected it to be”.
“Ultimately, I think the way Trump and Harris worked with their celebrity backers was not the deciding issue in this election,” he said.
“The issues are much more fundamental than celebrities.”
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Mondschein said he expects political star power to continue in future US elections.
“Candidates have to break through and they can’t rely on commercial media, cable news or major newspapers to provide them [coverage] what are they hoping for,” he added.
In Trump’s case, Dixon said having someone like billionaire Tesla and SpaceX founder Musk on his side helped him win voters’ economic trust.
“Voters who turned from Biden and Harris to Trump were looking for big changes in the economy,” she said.
“I think it helped him, but only modestly.”
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