Donald Trump’s third presidential campaign is more hyper-reliant on endorsements from social media influencers than in years past.
Trump’s recent appearance alongside boxer Ryan Garcia — who endorsed the former president — was a revealing snapshot of how his political persona has evolved since 2016. Garcia, who won his recent match against boxer Devin Haney in controversial fashion, has emerged as a right-wing conspiracy theorist in recent months. Trump, of course, is a conspiracy theorist in his own right. So the pairing was fitting.
Trump and his supporters have been known to use combat sports and their stars — typically, fighters from the Ultimate Fighting Championship — as props for his political publicity stunts. And now boxers are part of it, too. Along with Garcia’s endorsement, Trump has received an invite from Jake Paul to the social media star-turned-boxer’s fight against Mike Tyson this summer. The Trump campaign told Wired that it’s “seriously considering” the offer. (And given the guarantee of a large audience, I’d bet money he shows up.)
In his previous presidential bids, Trump benefited from endorsements from experienced lawmakers, military experts and normie bureaucrats who gave his campaigns an air of legitimacy and seriousness.
I think the Garcia and Paul developments underscore the Trump campaign’s reliance on influencers in the lead-up to November. In his previous presidential bids, Trump benefited from endorsements from experienced lawmakers, military experts and normie bureaucrats who gave his campaigns an air of legitimacy and seriousness.
This time around, many of those people — be that Trump’s former vice president or his former defense secretary — are estranged from Trump and are publicly denouncing his campaign. And the ones who have stuck by his side seem too sycophantic to win over non-MAGA voters.
So now it appears that Trump is chasing the clout, or perceived coolness, associated with celebs and social media stars. To be fair: This is a tactic that Trump’s camp has used for years. And the Biden campaign, to a lesser degree, has tried to adopt it as well.
A Semafor report from December showed that Trump’s campaign isn’t hiding its thirst for celebrity endorsements, particularly from fighters and rappers: Trump reportedly wants to host an event at Madison Square Garden featuring Black athletes and hip-hop artists who support him. Trump and his allies have strategically used influencers to push their far-right messaging and pressure conservatives to adopt his dubious political tactics. And his public fretting over Taylor Swift potentially endorsing President Joe Biden is yet more proof that he sees celebs and social media stars as make-or-break figures for his campaign.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.