Kamala’s stars & Trump’s Silicon stripes

THE highly respected Scientific American magazine did not do Kamala Harris a favour by announcing its support for her. Readers of that journal felt it was unbecoming of an impartial purveyor of science to enter partisan politics of earthlings instead of reporting, for instance, on Mars calling Venus, or how stars burst to life. Kamala, wisely, kept quiet about this endorsement. She had other stars to think about.

Pop singer Taylor Swift is one such star. After the Presidential debate, she came out blazing blinding white light in support of Kamala Harris. This endorsement could move the needle as Swift has 550 million followers across social media. When Travis Kelce, the football hero, started dating her, his Instagram following jumped by three million. A lift like this would be Kamala's dream especially as the contest is so close. Soon after Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris, as many as 4,05,999 users visited the site vote.gov that instructs one about how to get registered in the electoral rolls and vote. If, as surveys suggest, more than half the adults in the USA are Swift fans, her backing of Kamala Harris is good news for the Democrats. If Travis Kelce could get a boost because of Swift, Kamala Harris deserves one too.

The problem is that more than half of Swift's fans belong to Generation Z — they are between 18 and 26 years old. This age group, repeated surveys show, is most reluctant to get out and vote. In America's most recent election, the 2022 midterms, only 25.5 per cent of 18-to-29-year olds cast a ballot whereas 63.1 per cent of those above age 60 did. The young go to concerts and stage protests, but voting is not their thing; it's not their thing.

Kamala Harris has enjoyed a two-week post-debate fizz and now she and Donald Trump are both running flat out. Trump's supporters have dusted themselves off from the debate debacle. This has made the race more or less even. Kamala has clearly more celebrities on her side — Swift, for one — but how reliable is that? In India, we have seen film stars come and go out of politics without creating much of a ripple.

Star support can certainly be very newsy. American TV, too, gushes about celebrities crooning for Kamala. Hillary Clinton also had Hollywood at her feet, singing her song, but still lost. Donald Trump won with a scantier cast and in this election, too, his celebrity endorsement is nowhere near that of Kamala Harris. She probably has many more stars in her pocket than even what Hilary Clinton had during her campaign.

Still, remember that Hilary lost and this should be a cautionary tale for those exulting in Kamala's celebrity troupe. Besides Swift, there's a long list of catch-me-before-I-swoon heartthrobs like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep. This might even harm Kamala as it makes credible Trump's charge that Democrats are elitist; they think of organics and climate change but not of kitchen sink issues.

The muscle-shirted Hulk Hogan is the one real star with Trump. Surprisingly, given the widely alleged, and unconfirmed, links Trump has with White supremacists, quite a few celebrity Blacks are on his side. Among them is Amber Rose, who once called Trump a racist, as well as rappers like Sexxy Red, Kodak Black and Lil Wayne. Earlier, Trump had favoured the last two with Presidential pardons for crimes that meant longish jail terms.

Though none of these figures come anywhere near Taylor Swift or Oprah Winfrey in terms of followers or fans, together, they count for a substantial number. Millions, particularly Blacks, stamp and sway to rap music which boasts of "banging" metaphors and "bad man" imageries. Through them, and their lawyers, the racist charge against Trump is challenged as he is now hailed by this section as an advocate of American Blacks.

There is another elite grouping which is money-wise more powerful but lacks popular charisma. It comprises tech billionaires of the Silicon Valley who cheer for Trump as they are ideologically convinced that Kamala Harris is a dangerous Marxist. In fact, Trump's running mate JD Vance is the nominee of the Silicon Valley heavies. They chose Vance in the belief that he can carry their heft to counter Kamala's left.

On her part, Kamala is doing her best to douse her radical image and has said, very recently, as if in confessional mode: "I am a capitalist." In the past, as a California politician, she was always soft on geek billionaires but today she is identified with Joe Biden's anti-trust and tax-the-rich policies. Undeniably, Kamala is in a bind; she wants to step out of Biden's long shadow, but should she turn left or right?

Ironically, the largest organisation of workers in the USA, the Teamsters, has not endorsed either Kamala or Trump. Sean O'Brien, president of the Teamsters, justified this because he found Kamala's pro-labour record unconvincing. Jimmy Hoffa Jr, a former president, said this was ridiculous as Harris was definitely closer to unionist thinking than Trump who supports Elon Musk, an unabashed strike-breaker.

When it comes to celebrities, voters might want to sink into their arms. But they also know that, in fact, their own arms are in the sink. That's the reality ‘cheque’!