The 2020 presidential hopefuls are already cashing checks from Hollywood celebrities, but they don’t seem to be riding a wave of A-list enthusiasm to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination — at least after last night’s debate.
Hollywood’s top pick to take on President Donald Trump has varied over the last year. Initially, it was Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), then former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, then former Vice President Joe Biden, and now it seems to be Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). It is, no doubt, odd that many in Hollywood aren’t pulling for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), but there’s a clear difference between advocating for socialist programs, at least in the eyes of multi-millionaire actors, and facing a candidate who will redistribute their cash to pay for those programs.
But, if Hollywood’s vote depended on Tuesday night’s debate in South Carolina, they’d be hard-pressed to pick a winner. Instead, most took to social media to roast the candidates on stage.
“That face you make when you’ve been trying to be president for 30+ years and you finally realize it’s never gonna happen,” comedian Hannibal Buress wrote about Biden.
That face you make when you've been trying to be president for 30+ years and you finally realize it's never gonna happen. pic.twitter.com/xyDqQPJlyF
— Hannibal Buress (@hannibalburess) February 26, 2020
Comedian Paul F. Tomkins took aim at former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg who, on Tuesday night, suggested he was capable of paying for nearly the entire Democratic party operation.
“It’s cynical & maybe a little “tinfoil hat” to suggest Bloomberg hired people to cheer & clap for him at the debate. Couldn’t they merely be a concentration of concerned voters who believe in his policies & had thousands of dollars to spend on debate tickets?” Tomkins wrote.
It’s cynical & maybe a little “tinfoil hat” to suggest Bloomberg hired people to cheer & clap for him at the debate. Couldn’t they merely be a concentration of concerned voters who believe in his policies & had thousands of dollars to spend on debate tickets?
— Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) February 26, 2020
Late-night host Bill Maher was the most brutal.
“While the world burns, melts and gets sick these children and opportunists running for president talk about a dirty joke from the 80s. What’s the emoji for Losers?” he wrote.
While the world burns, melts and gets sick these children and opportunists running for president talk about a dirty joke from the 80s. What’s the emoji for Losers?
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) February 26, 2020
Television star Zach Braff, clearly tired of it all, was more concise: “What a mess.”
What a mess.
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) February 26, 2020
According to TMZ, Hollywood’s preferences in the field are diverse, and celebrities have yet to unite behind a single candidate, perhaps finding themselves on different parts of the leftist spectrum. But lest anyone think the collective ennui of Hollywood society means they might consider a Republican, legendary comedian Carl Reiner threw cold water on that fire.
“After watching the Democrat candidates debate it became crystal clear that any one of them was a thousand times more qualified to be our President than the joker, who, with Russia’s help stole the Office from Hillary,” he said on Twitter.
If any celebrity demurred from that statement, they kept quiet about it, but the disappointment was palpable, regardless. Even filmmaker Michael Moore was hard-pressed to deliver a kind word for the field, even though he’s thrown his unqualified support behind Bernie Sanders. Instead of praising the Vermont Socialist, he made a quip about $3,200 debate tickets.
“The audience at the debate — tickets to get in cost up to $3,200. No surprise to see Bloomberg get some cheers. Is there any joy in watching this debate?” Moore moaned.
Of course, Moore, whose net worth is in the tens of millions (if not higher) could have bought out the auditorium and peppered it with Sanders supporters with non-confrontation methods of expressing happiness at the ready. Bloomberg just seemed to have the idea first.