Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, called out his party on Friday for relying on celebrity endorsements during the 2024 election.
Appearing on CNN This Morning, Landsman said the Kamala Harris campaign’s use of Hollywood stars to boost her chances against President-elect Donald Trump was misguided. “Like, no one cares what some of these – we like their movies, we like their music. Who they’re voting for? Eh, not so important,” he told CNN anchor Kasie Hunt.
Hunt shared a clip from a voter focus group where participants criticized Democrats for lacking authenticity. The group took aim at the party’s dependence on Hollywood elites to spread their message.
One voter said, “I feel like the celebrity endorsement at its max has to go away because everybody’s laughing, and it’s all just a star-studded circus.” Another voter urged Democrats to “talk to the grassroots, talk to the people” if they want to win.
Landsman agreed, saying he hears similar frustrations from people in his community. “I got off of social media a while ago, so no Twitter, no Instagram, no TikTok,” he said. “Now we have accounts and I put stuff up there, but I’m not scrolling.”
He added, “I get all my information from people, so, back home, whether it’s on the soccer field – I’m a soccer dad – or at the grocery store, or at our town hall, this is exactly what I hear: ‘Do the work,’ ‘please be normal,’ ‘be pragmatic.’”
Landsman said voters like it when the center-left and center-right collaborate. “That’s what we want. That’s where you’re going to solve problems,” he said. He also found the backlash against celebrity endorsements “hilarious, because it is true.”
Hunt asked if celebrity endorsements make Democrats seem “out of touch.” Landsman agreed. “Yeah, I suspect if you’re hanging out with these celebrities – it’s not the life I’m living, so yeah sure, that feels different.”
Despite backing from major stars like Beyoncé, Cardi B, Usher, and Taylor Swift, Harris lost decisively to Trump. The celebrity support didn’t seem to resonate with voters.
Even pop culture commentators questioned the influence of figures like Swift. “Taylor Swift really don’t got the – she don’t really got the juice like that,” Andrew Schulz remarked on the “Brilliant Idiots” podcast. Charlamagne added, “She don’t!”