Candidate Donald Trump was quoted in early February as saying that endorsements are “a waste of time” and “they mean very little.” And for once he’s not that far off the mark. In recent campaigns the importance of endorsements is severely diminished.
But for someone who doesn’t think much of endorsements, Trump seems to be doing a pretty good job of racking them up, even the one he claims he didn’t ask for, like that of KKK leader David Duke. Last week Trump seemed to glow in the moment when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie waddled to the podium to lavish his sycophantic praise on his former adversary – and we haven’t heard much from Christie since then, since six newspapers in his own state were so upset about the Trump endorsement that they called for his resignation.
In addition to politicians like Christie, Trump has received his fair share of celebrity endorsements. They include such great political minds as Hulk Hogan, currently in the news for being filmed having sex with his best friend’s wife; golfer John Daly – an admitted alcohol abuser and gambler, not to mention his few brushes with the law and truly bad taste in pants; Duck Dynasty‘s Willie Robertson — a great bastion of political thought; and last but not least, Las Vegas star Wayne Newton — who probably shares the same brand of spray-on tan lotion as Trump.
As Ohio Governor John Kasich still glows from the endorsement of former California governor and long-time friend and supporter Arnold Swartzenager, one wonders how many voters are swayed by celebrity endorsements.
In our multi-cultural society candidates need more than the lily-white followers of Hulk Hogan and Duck Dynasty to win national elections. As a result, just about every candidate has to have a few black folks to convince black voters that they have “a little bit of soul” and understand the blight of black America. Since Trump doesn’t have the pictures of himself getting arrested in a Civil Rights demonstration in the 1960s like Bernie Sanders or a record of work for minority causes like Hillary Clinton, he had to look around for some black folks to vouch for him. He couldn’t use the ones he refused to rent to in the 1990s when he was sued by the Department of Justice and had to pay damages for failure to comply with fair housing standards.
Suddenly as Trump’s political star seems to rise, he has begun to amass and/or rent an interesting array of black folks who are jumping on his band wagon.
They include the semi-literate Mike Tyson — a convicted rapist — who, depending on the state where he resides, may not be even able to vote; the cross-dressing Dennis Rodman, basketball buddy of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un; former football star Herschel Walker, whom Trump made a millionaire when he signed with Trump’s football team; Terrell Owens who has had a controversial career in the NFL; and the most puzzling, Charles Evers, the brother of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Charles must have been reminiscing about his former days of glory in the Civil Rights Movement or seeking help from Trump for his catfish farm when Trump had those black demonstrators dragged out of his rallies.
Celebrity endorsements are relatively new phenomenon in American presidential politics. Probably the first effective use of them was by John Kennedy in the 1960 election. Stars like Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack — which included Sammy Davis Jr. — flocked to the Kennedy camp, appealing to legions of younger, more liberal voters who were tired of eight years of Ike playing golf.
But 56 years later, the endorsements in the South Carolina primary by Spike Lee and Danny Glover of Bernie Sanders fell on deaf ears as black folks voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton. Political scientists will eventually attempt to calculate the impact of the melodious tones of Morgan Freeman on behalf of Hillary — but something must have clicked as the ad has now gone national.
So as the Trump bandwagon forges ahead to the nomination, we can only look for more celebrity endorsements for “The Donald.” Unfortunately, Honey Boo-Boo is not old enough to vote.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection and was recently appointed to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.