Many people from the American film and entertainment industry have expressed their opposition to Donald J. Trump, in various ways. However, it is possible that a silent majority exists in the industry, one that may soon start speaking out in favor of President Trump.
Just because some voices are louder, one must not conclude that the voices represent a majority. Over the years, many Hollywood celebrities and musicians have opposed Donald Trump. From the day Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the president of the United States, many individuals from the world of movies and music have opposed him on television and social media. Robert de Niro, Chelsea Handler, Samuel L. Jackson, Taylor Swift, and Jennifer Lawrence are the names of some celebrities who are in the anti-Trump camp.
While many have spoken against Donald Trump when he was running as a candidate and also after he became the president, there are some in Hollywood who turned their dislike for Trump into a major part of their professional identity. One of the biggest examples of this is Alec Baldwin, who did episodes after episodes of Saturday Night Live, performing parodies.
Hollywood seems to have pursued anti-Trump rhetoric with a passion. The extent of their opposition to America’s president is such that many, including Oscar winners such as Brad Pitt, have politicized the Academy Awards to promote their anti-Trump agenda. Some celebrities, before the 2016 presidential election, even said that they would leave the United States if Trump is elected. Now that we are in the 2020 election cycle, once again, celebrities are saying that they would leave America if President Trump is re-elected.
Many seem to draw conclusion that people in the film and music industry are overwhelmingly left-leaning. However, that may not be the case. We have seen an outpouring of support for Donald Trump, from various celebrities. People like Kirstie Alley, Stephen Baldwin, Roseanne Barr, and Jon Voight have supported Donald Trump for years. The list of Trump supporters is long. But over the last few weeks, we have seen stars like Lil Wayne and Ice Cube speaking in favor of the president or his administration.
People often use the term ‘silent majority’, when referring to Trump supporters. The term suggests that while Trump supporters form a majority, many of them are not publicly vocal, and hence ‘silent’. However, they have voted for Donald Trump in the past or will go to the ballot box in 2020 to express their support for the president in large numbers, and hence forming a ‘majority’.
In recent months, we have seen that Trump supporters are holding major events, such as large rallies, car parades, boat parades, etc., to show their support for the president. The momentum among Trump supporters is strong, and getting stronger each day. In the process, they are breaking their silence, and making their voices heard.
Similarly, in the American film and music industry, there may be a ‘silent majority’ praying for a Donald Trump victory in 2020. Simply because many celebrities oppose Trump, it does not mean that they are the majority or that they represent everyone in the industry. There may be an even larger number of supporters of President Trump, in the film and music industry, who are silently rooting for him and would cast their ballots for him.
There are reasons why conservatives in film and music industry remain ‘silent’ about their support for President Donald Trump. Openly supporting Trump could result in the individual or artist becoming victim of the ‘cancel culture’ that is aggressively promoted by those on the left – which refers to one’s shows, movies, or music being boycotted. It could also lead to one being subject to verbal attacks on television or social media.
Because the louder voices in the American film and music industry are supportive of the left, they appear to project an impression of majority. True majority in the industry is hard to measure, especially given the emergence of new supporters of Trump among celebrities. Over time, supporters of Donald Trump, in the world of entertainment, are becoming more vocal. It could very well be the case that the industry has a silent majority of conservatives and Trump supporters.