It is the moment of truth in the United States, as voters go to the polls today to choose their new president. Celebrities have also chosen sides and, perhaps more than in any previous election, have been queuing up to tell us who will be getting their votes. While Hillary Clinton seems to be the candidate of choice for much of the star pack, Donald Trump has his share of big names rooting for him, too. Afshan Ahmed looks at a few of the more high-profile supporters of each.
Team Hillary
Amy Schumer
The comedian took to social media to make her endorsement for Clinton public. The 35-year-old posted a photo of herself, in a figure-skating outfit, with Clinton taken from when they appeared on an edition of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with the hashtag #I'mWithHer. Schumer was also seen in a voter-advocacy video in which she explicitly asks people to vote for Clinton.
Team Hillary
Jay Z
The world’s most financially successful hip-hop artist is also one of Clinton’s biggest supporters. The rapper, along with wife Beyoncé, Chance the Rapper and Big Sean performed during at a rally for her in Ohio this week.
Team Hillary
Ellen DeGeneres
One of America’s most-loved talk-show hosts, she has repeatedly voiced her support for Clinton. DeGeneres told the candidate, when she was on her show in January, that she is a huge fan: “I think that you’re as smart as can be, I think you are qualified, I think you stand for everything that I want in a president.” DeGeneres hasn’t shied away from speaking her mind about Trump, either. “He’s a bully. He represents a bully. He can deny that, but I think anybody that looks up the definition of a bully [will see that],” she told ABC News in June.
Team Hillary
J J Abrams
The Star Wars: The Force Awakens director told The Daily Beast in February that Clinton is the strongest candidate. "She does have the experience and the politics," he said. "She is compassionate, and right. When I look at the people who need the support that aren't necessarily getting it, I believe that she would provide that." Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, donated US$500,000 (Dh1.8m) to the Clinton super PAC (Political Action Committee) Priorities USA.
Team Hillary
Amal and George Clooney
The celebrity power couple hosted a star-studded fund-raiser at their Los Angeles home in April, for which each ticket cost US$33,400 (Dh122,683). The dinner, where the guests included DeGeneres, actresses Portia De Rossi and Jane Fonda, and The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons, raised $15 million. George Clooney has been an admirer of Clinton since she was secretary of state, when she worked with him to address human-rights issues in Sudan.
Team Hillary
Katy Perry
The 32-year-old singer’s seal of approval carries a lot of weight with the younger generation. This week, dressed in an outfit representing the American flag and a coat with the words “I’m With Madam President”, Perry took to the stage in Pennsylvania to sway her audience to vote for Clinton. “I admire so many things about Hilly C,” said Perry. “I agree with her many informed and educated policies. I think Hillary recognises all of our voices and she hears us and sees us, and she knows we are stronger together. Hillary is ready and qualified to do the job from day one.”
Team Trump
Clint Eastwood
The four-time Oscar winner is a long-time supporter of the Republican Party and wants Trump to win. The 86-year-old actor and filmmaker said that despite all the “dumb things” Trump has said, he would still be voting for him. “He’s onto something because secretly everybody’s getting tired of political correctness, kissing up,” Eastwood told Esquire magazine.
Team Trump
Gene Simmons
The 67-year-old musician from rock band Kiss concedes that Trump said harsh and unkind things during his campaign, but told Rolling Stone magazine that he is nonetheless "good for the political system". The musician and reality-TV star says what fascinates him about Trump is his political incorrectness. "He is the truest political animal I've ever seen onstage," Simmons told the magazine. "He has no speech writers, no editing, no nothing."
Team Trump
Jon Voight
The Academy Award winner publicly announced his support for Trump in March (his daughter, Angelina Jolie, has pledged her support for Clinton). Voight said Trump represents freedom. “Donald is funny, playful and colourful, but most of all, he is honest,” he said. “He’s an answer to our problems. We need to get behind him.”
Team Trump
Mike Tyson
Tyson’s friendship with Trump goes back to when the heavyweight boxer had high-profile bouts at Trump-owned hotel-casinos. Trump even sided with Tyson when the boxer was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. “We’re the same guy,” he told The Daily Beast. “A thrust for power, a drive for power. Whatever field we’re in, we need power in that field.”
Team Trump
Scott Baio
"When he speaks, I understand him," said American actor Scott Baio when asked by Fox News why he backs Trump. The 56-year-old former star of TV comedy Happy Days added: "He speaks like I speak, he communicates with people very well. I want him, as any one person can do, to go into Washington and blow it up."
Team Trump
Kid Rock
The 45-year-old American rapper says he "digs" Donald Trump. Rock who identifies strongly as right-wing, told Rolling Stone this year that he did not like the hardcore views of any candidate running for president but he had to pick a side. "Let the business guy run it like a business. And his campaign has been [very] entertaining."
aahmed@thenational.ae
