Paul Bond of The Hollywood Reporter writes that the political career of Donald Trump portends an easier path for celebrities into politics: “if a former reality TV star can win the presidency, then surely others in Hollywood (with less baggage, even) can get elected to office…”
Take for instance, Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock), who has discussed potentially running in the 2020 presidential election as a Republican. Bond writes he’s been speaking to political consultants, which lends itself to further fan the flames of the rumor. Soap-opera star Antonio Sabato Jr. has already filed papers to run for Congress in California.
The latest to consider throwing their hat into the ring, according to Bond, is Sam Sorbo, actress and wife to Kevin Sorbo, an actor known for his role in hit TV show Hercules and most recently a slew of Christian faith films. Sam is being recruited by top Republican donors to run for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat in California.Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Sam Sorbo fan. “I’m hoping for a detailed discussion before I endorse,” he told Bond. “But I worked for an actor who became one of the best presidents in history, Ronald Reagan, so I never doubt entertainers who are passionate about politics. Reagan certainly knew how to communicate and I know Sam is a great communicator, too.”
Then there’s Frank DeMartini, a film producer known for such movies as Rambo and The Expendables. DeMartini is running for the congressional seat that is now held by the bombastic, attention-seeking Maxine Waters, who most recently threatened to “take Trump out.”
Singer and songwriter Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, flirted for weeks with the idea of taking on Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, though put all rumors to rest when he went on Howard Stern’s radio show on Tuesday, telling Stern, “F—k no, I’m not running for Senate.” He did leave the door open if the left keeps antagonizing him, but he's touring with a new album.
On the other side of the aisle, leftists like Michael Moore encouraged actress and talk-TV legend Oprah Winfrey to ponder a presidential run, but later said she would “never run for public office.” Disney CEO Bob Iger said no to running in California but “possibly yes” to running for the 2020 presidential election in 2020 as a Democrat, “people close to him say.”
Liberals have openly chattered about running a celebrity against Trump as Kanye West, Chris Rock, Katy Perry, Tom Hanks, and Will Smith, to name a few, seemed to toy with adding their names to a 2020 list of possibilities.
