Hollywood Gives Biden's Digital Campaign Final Star-Studded Push
With less than three weeks until Election Day, Joe Biden's campaign is making its final push of star power, rolling out a series of virtual events featuring some of Hollywood's biggest names in an attempt to propel the former vice president past the finish line.
The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign scheduled celebrity-filled events for nearly every day this week. Tuesday featured three separate functions with some star wattage: a Latino-focused roundtable with comedian George Lopez, a "Star Trek" discussion with “Next Generation” alumnus LeVar Burton and a military service celebration with legendary TV producer Norman Lear.
“Generally speaking, when it comes to celebrity endorsements, Donald Trump is the celebrity,” GOP strategist Ford O’Connell says of the former “Apprentice” star.
“Hearing from Trump directly is what spurs Republicans to the voting booth — not celebrities,” says the political analyst and former congressional candidate.
The athletes, musical artists and actors turning out for Biden, O’Connell says, won’t necessarily “have the impact the Biden campaign thinks that they’re going to have, and I don’t necessarily think they’re going to have an impact with the voters that are going to decide this election.” But, he says, it’s “totally understandable” why the ex-VP’s campaign would team up with famous faces and influencers with gigantic platforms who reach millions of young people and women: “These celebrities talk to the voters that they need.”
Stars Snub Fans With Donald Trump Snits
Hollywood’s shots at President-elect Donald Trump during the Golden Globes last night demonstrate a smug myopia among stars whose ratings and box office success are reliant on millions of middle Americans who voted Trump into office, commentators said.
Among the quipsters were Meryl Streep, host Jimmy Fallon — who was skewered on Twitter for a softball interview with Trump during the election — and Hugh Laurie, who won best supporting actor for his role in “The Night Manager,” in which he plays a billionaire arms dealer.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell, who’s provided political commentary for entertainment outlets such as E! and People Magazine, said such politicizing is bad business.
“What La-La Land hasn’t grasped is that when they break into these petulant temper tantrums, they insult half of America, which is pretty stupid for Hollywood’s bottom line,” O’Connell said.
O’Connell cited underwhelming returns for projects by entertainers critical of Trump, such as Jennifer Lawrence’s film “Passenger,” which did only $130 million of the $300 million needed to turn a profit. Lawrence penned an angry online screed after Trump’s election.
“At the end of the day, you might not like Trump, but half of America does,” O’Connell said.
Why Is #TrumpSoPoor? Hollywood GOP Won’t Throw ‘Good Money After Bad’
he news that Donald Trump raised a mere $3.1 million last month — leaving him with about $1.3 million on hand — has left many in the Republican party scratching their heads in disbelif. But it was anything but surprising to conservatives living and working in Hollywood.
Many say they’re holding off on donations for fear of being outed as Trump supporters in public contribution disclosures.
The lack of Hollywood money isn’t the only one of Trump’s fundraising problems — when has Hollywood not leaned left? — but it doesn’t help. And if Republicans in other industries are also afraid of seeing their names next to Trump donations, that’s another disadvantage for the real estate mogul and reality star.
One of the worst months of Trump’s campaign hasnt helped.
“Since Indiana, the campaign has been on vacation,” GOP political strategist Ford O’Connell told TheWrap. “It’s a problem.”
Hollywood Conservative Buzz Builds For Ben Carson As GOP Contender Surges In Polls
“You’re talking about a guy who grew up in blue-collar Michigan and who wound up going to Yale,” a Republican insider tells TheWrap. “This is like a Hallmark special”
Hollywood conservatives are watching with intrigue and skepticism as Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson rises in the polls to challenge frontrunner Donald Trump.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed Carson, a neurosurgeon who’s never held office before, in second place in the wide GOP field after Trump. A Monmouth University survey of Iowa Republicans on Monday show Carson tied with the real-estate mogul, while a Des Moines Register and Bloomberg poll had both candidates running neck and neck within the poll’s margin of error.
As of now, two Hollywood A-listers have publicly thrown their support behind Carson. Roger McGuinn, former lead singer and guitarist for The Byrds, gave $1,000 to the Carson campaign. And Kid Rock announced earlier this year that he supports Carson, but did not donate in the second quarter.
“Hollywood folks want to make sure that they back the right horse,” Ford O’Connell, Republican strategist and adviser to John McCain in 2008, told TheWrap. “Ben Carson is someone who would be a formidable opponent against Hillary Clinton just because of his story.”
But it’s his medical background that could be his biggest asset when it comes to potential donors in the entertainment industry.
“Healthcare is such an important issue among folks in Hollywood,” O’Connell said. “Carson is seen as someone who could right the ship of Obamacare. He’s been the head of John Hopkins and has spent his whole life in medicine he knows best how to fix it.”
The fact that he’s the only African-American in the GOP primary race is also a plus for showbiz bigwigs. “There’s an undercurrent in among Hollywood conservatives who are sick and tired of the Republican Party being seen as being anti-minority,” O’Connell said. “Carson is someone that they love who also happens to be black.”
Why Donald Trump’s Third Party Threat Has Hollywood Conservatives On Edge
Donald Trump has been exasperating Republicans from the moment he announced his run for the White House last month, with his racially charged remarks about Mexican immigrants, his criticism of Arizona Sen. John McCain and that cellphone-number stunt directed at South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
But Trumps threat on Thursday to ditch the GOP and run as an independent has been met with both anger and skepticism from Hollywood conservatives, who fear that a high-profile third party candidate would lead to a sure win for Hillary Clinton.
In 1992, Perot, a right-leaning billionaire businessman, mounted an independent, mostly self-financed campaign for the presidency under the banner of the Reform Party. He won 18.9 percent of the vote, and was widely credited with tipping the election to Clinton from incumbent George H.W. Bush.
Now many Hollywood conservatives are worried about a ’92 repeat.
Considering that the cost of a viable candidacy could run north of $1.5 billion, Trump may end up needing Hollywood’s support and donations, whether he admits it or not.
“He’s absolutely going to need the Hollywood crowd and other big donors,” Ford O’Connell, Republican strategist and adviser to John McCain in 2008, told TheWrap. “He’d go broke if he financed the entire campaign by himself.”
But many in Hollywood and Washington, D.C., don’t believe Trump is serious about his threats.
“He’s sending a message to the establishment basically saying, ‘Back off or else.’ But I don’t think he’s going to actually do it,” O’Connell said. “He knows it would mean Hillary would win.”
Inside The GOP’s Plan To Tap Into Hollywood’s Big Dollars
Hollywood has long been ground zero for Democratic presidential campaign fundraising.
While a typical Southern California fundraiser can fetch anywhere between $1 million and $4 million, attaching an A-list name often brings in a boatload more. For example, George Clooney famously raised a whopping $15 million for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in just one night.
In recent years, Hollywood has increasingly become a stomping ground for Republican candidates as well. And in 2016, experts say, expect the GOP to raise even more cha-ching.
“There’s a lot more money this cycle than we previously thought,” Republican strategist and adviser to John McCain in 2008, Ford O’Connell told TheWrap. “Mostly from traditional voters, but also from Hollywood’s underbelly that is not very happy with the economy.”
Conservative power players have raised plenty of money on the West Coast over the years — albeit less than their Democratic counterparts. But Republican operatives say there is plenty of GOP Hollywood cash up for grabs.
“When you add in Hollywood execs, there’s a lot of money available,” O’Connell said. “A lot of Hollywood power players can also help boost the name recognition of a lot of these [candidates].”
While Republican voters run the gamut, Hollywood conservatives tend to lean toward candidates who are stronger on the economy rather than social issues.
“They’re looking at three or four candidates right now,” said O’Connell. “One is obviously Jeb Bush. Another one is Marco Rubio, because he has a very compelling personal narrative. The third is Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and the fourth is Rand Paul because the tech industry is looking at him closely.”
Whether or not he’ll win the support of Hollywood conservatives remains to be seen.
“A lot of them are taking a wait-and-see approach,” said O’Connell. “We have 16 candidates potentially running, so you’re not going to hear a lot of folks voicing their opinion until they know who the final two or three are.”
