Political campaigns can be degraded through a celebrity endorsement if the celebrity doesn’t understand the context of political speech. Both political parties demonstrate this type of persuasion towards audiences throughout political election history.
One of the most recent examples was through Tony Hinchcliffe, famous podcast host and comedian, at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Hinchcliffe made several remarks against multiple demographics that were not appropriate.
Hinchcliffe said, “These Latinos, they love making babies, just know that they do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside just like they do in our country.”
Hinchcliffe also said, “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
The type of humor that Hinchcliffe was trying to deliver was distasteful and not meant for a political stage. The jokes were solid but didn’t work because Hinchcliffe did not read the room or realize it was the wrong context. If Hinchcliffe had been in an environment where dark humor was accepted, then his set wouldn’t have made as much of a difference in the mainstream media.
Hinchcliffe’s podcast/show “Kill Tony,” is one of the top podcasts in the world. The show pulls names of comedians out of a bucket, including first-time comedians and experienced comedians. The comedians get a minute to show off their talent and then get criticism from Hinchcliffe and his guest panel of comedians.
Being a part of this show is not for the light-hearted, as the comedy can get very dark quickly, especially if the comedian on stage does an underperforming comedy minute. In the context of the podcast “Kill Tony,” the jokes Hinchcliffe made at the campaign rally would have worked well with the crowd.
Tucker Carlson was at the same Madison Square Garden rally. Carlson fits this context more due to his profession in political commentary. The problem of context is in what Carlson said at the campaign.
“Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she’s just so impressive,” Carlson said. “As the first Samoan, Malaysian, low IQ, former California prosecutor.”
The way that Carlson made these comments on Harris’s ethnicity shows the lack of attention-to-detail that can ruin the message he brings. Harris is of both Tamil Indian American and Jamaican American descent, but that is beside the point. Political commentators at a rally should focus on the policies and procedures that Harris wants to follow and not on spreading disinformation.
Both political parties fall susceptible to the incorrect use of context.
Cardi B, a well-known rapper, spoke at a Harris campaign rally.
“Kamala recognizes this country is at risk,” Cardi B said. “The economy needs to get stronger. The cost of food and the cost of living is too high. Damn, it’s even high for me!” That statement is hard to believe and is out of context for the actual lifestyle the famous rapper holds.
Cardi B was interviewed by Speedy Norman, host of “360 with Speedy.”
“I made a lot of money,” she said. “I feel like I actually passed almost 80 million. I make a lot, a lot, a lot of money.” The context of her statement at the Harris campaign rally doesn’t add up. No one should believe that a rapper worth $80 million has struggled in this economy, much less whatever she was paid to speak at the Harris campaign.
Another prime example of incorrect context was the celebrity endorsement of Megan Thee Stallion at a Harris campaign rally. Megan used this platform and performed dances to radio-edited versions of her songs. If the edited songs weren’t exactly explicit, then the dances should have been ruled as such.
Megan Thee Stallion didn’t get the context of the campaign rally, failing to encompass the entire audience that Harris wanted to reach. Even if she did intend for her dance to pull the younger demographic of voters, the performance shows that all demographics present at the rally weren’t considered here.
The context of a political campaign should be analyzed with concern as to how celebrities can endorse political candidates. This year’s presidential election has shown that these types of endorsements are not representative of their audiences as a whole.