User:AsianStudent852/sandbox

Celebrity and Political Culture
Celebrities and politics have interacted in mainly one of two ways. The first way is celebrity politicians, which crosses an elected office of government with celebritization. The second way is with political activism, a newly popular method which avoids directly participating in government itself.

Celebrity Politicians
Celebrity politicians can be divided into two categories: celebrities that go over to government and hold an elected office and politicians that become celebrities.

Celebrities that have held a government office are not uncommon. Donald Trump is an example of one. A businessman and real estate dealer who has licensed his name to properties and other brands, Trump gained national fame when he starred in the television show The Apprentice in 2004, and again during the 2012 presidential election by implying that then presidential candidate Barack Obama was not a natural born United States citizen. He then successfully ran for the United States presidency in 2016. Ronald Reagan is another example. He was a career actor that appeared in 53 films over two decades. He first became governor of California in 1966, and then became president of the United States in 1980.

Politicians have also become celebrities themselves, either naturally or by copying celebrity traits. The Democratic group "The Squad" is an example. Consisting of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Talib, they were four Democrat representatives that were first formed after the 2018 midterm elections, when Ocasio-Cortez posted a picture of the four seated together on Instagram, playing off of the colloquial term squad goals. They have become well known for their outspoken nature in social media and their clashes against other politicians, such as Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi.

Celebrities and Political Issues
Celebrities have used their actions to highlight political issues. Jane Fonda, for example, has tried to promote awareness of climate change through being arrested for civil disobedience. With the rise of social media, celebrities have been able to express their opinions on controversial topics to get immediate feedback from their fans. Some celebrities have endorsed political candidates, such as Dave Chapelle endorsing 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

Some celebrities chose to refrain from using their status in this way. Michael Jordan allegedly said, "Republicans buy sneakers, too." when turning down a politician looking for an endorsement.