De Niro, Clooney … Chuck Norris? Biden and Trump seek star power for election boost

President, Republican rival and RFK Jr eager to recruit big names whose reach is bigger than ever – will it be decisive?

David Smith in Washington
Mon 27 May 2024 06.00 EDT

Once heard, never forgotten, the voice is familiar to admirers of The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Heat, The Irishman and countless others. “Trump wants revenge,” says Robert De Niro, “and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.”

[...]
Every four years candidates are eager to recruit big names who might wield influence over the electorate, not least young first-time voters. This time, with both Biden and Trump suffering low approval ratings, and with the race set to be extremely close, any addition of star power could be crucial in breaking through the noise.

[...]

David Litt, a former Barack Obama speechwriter, said: “A George Clooney endorsement now is much more valuable for Biden than a George Clooney endorsement was for Obama in 2012 because if George Clooney just goes out there and says, hey, unemployment is low, people will listen to him who will not listen to a politician on either side of the aisle. They’re just done with politicians.

“That’s a huge difference. If you’re a celebrity now, you kind of play the role that an entire newspaper might have played back 20, 30 years ago.”

[...]