In August 2015, rapper Kanye West announced he will be running for president in 2020 and since then, many celebrities have jumped on board.
The real question when it comes to celebrities running for office is who is serious and who isn’t? It has happened before—Ronald Reagan is the most famous of celebrities before Donald Trump to run for president. Reagan served as president from 1981 until 1989 after serving as governor of California from 1967 until 1975. Before that, Reagan was a Hollywood actor.
Other celebrities that have run for political offices include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Howard Stern and Clint Eastwood, amongst dozens of others.
Many celebrities have already set their goals high for 2020, most recently famous celebrity Oprah Winfrey made her announcement to run for president at the Golden Globes during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Recent polling from Morning Consult showed that only 24 percent of Americans want Winfrey to run for president. Polling from Public Broadcasting Service showed her more favorably with 46 percent of Americans wanting her to run.
“I don’t think that a celebrity is the best person to run. I do like Oprah and I think she has wise words to say but I don’t want a repeat of someone with no experience being a politician. I don’t think celebrities should be the ones to run,” Ferris pre-pharmacy sophomore Lucas Orosco said.
As for West, his 2020 bid has been met with a lot of criticism but also skepticism as to whether he will actually run or not.
In an August 2016 interview with BBC reporter Annie Mac, West said, “When I talk about the idea of being president, I’m not saying I have any political views—I don’t have views on politics—I just have a view on humanity, on people, on the truth.”
Some Ferris students are even more opposed to West running than they are of Winfrey running.
Another celebrity who has spoken about the possibility of running for president is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Johnson has said that, due to his filming obligations, a run in 2020 isn’t very possible but 2024 could very well see Johnson on the ballet.
“I can tell you with all honesty that the consideration comes at the desire from a large amount of people that would like to see this happen,” Johnson said in an interview with USA Today in December 2017.
While Johnson ponders the idea, students are uncertain of whether or not they would actually vote for Johnson.
“‘The Rock’ has been a public figure for many years, maybe he would be a good president, I would just have to see what his ideas are and how he would help America,” Ferris pre-pharmacy freshman Eric Finn said.
While it is unlikely that all of the celebrities that have announced their presidential bids will actually run in the future, what is known is that President Trump’s victory has inspired many celebrities to pursue their own political aspirations.
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