(The Center Square) – High-profile celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, Robert DeNiro, and countless others endorsed Kamala Harris in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 election, when she lost decisively to Donald Trump.
But an overwhelming majority of American voters say celebrity endorsements of the 2024 presidential candidates had no influence on who they voted for and, among some voters, such endorsements helped them decide who not to vote for.
A poll of 1,000 registered voters from Napolitan News Service asked two specific questions about celebrity endorsements: “Did celebrity endorsements make you more or less likely to vote for Donald Trump?” and “Did celebrity endorsements make you more or less likely to vote for Kamala Harris?”
Voters overwhelmingly said “no” to both.
“Celebrity endorsements in the 2024 election cycle were an inauthentic reach out to the American people, showing just how out of touch politicians are with what matters most to everyday Americans,” Napolitan News Service said in a statement accompanying its top-line results.
On the Trump question, 77% of respondents said endorsements made no difference and 2% said they were unsure; 12% said celebrity endorsements made them less likely to vote for a candidate and 9% said more likely.
Among voters who identify as independent on the same question, a total of 84% said no difference (74%) or not sure (5%); 9% said celebrity endorsements make them less likely to support a candidate and 7% said more likely.
On the Harris question, 74% said endorsements made no difference and 1% said they were unsure; 14% said celebrity endorsements made them less likely to vote for a candidate and 10% said more likely.
Among voters who identify as independent on the Harris question, a total of 87% said no difference (85%) or not sure (2%); 8% said celebrity endorsements make them less likely to support a candidate and 5% said more likely.
Former NBA star and current broadcaster Charles Barkley said on a post-election podcast that Democrats needed to run on fixing problems, not by trotting out celebrities.
“We still haven’t solved the immigration problem, never addressed inflation,” Barkley said, as poll after poll showed inflation and the border crisis were by far the top two issues on voters’ minds as they went to the polls. “Bringing all these stupid stars out to rally the vote, what was that? I love Beyoncé. That ain’t gonna make me vote a certain type of way.”