Because we live in a world where former reality star Donald Trump is president of the United States, certain members of the media appear to believe that any celebrity has the chance to be the next leader of the free world.
Singer John Legend has been very vocal about his opposition to Trump, recently telling TMZ that he thinks he’s a “terrible president” when asked about his first 100 days in office.
“He’s manifestly unqualified, not curious, not good at legislating or doing anything that his job requires,” Legend said. “I can’t say anything nice about the guy. I think he’s one of the worst people I’ve ever encountered in public life.”
Legend’s feelings on Trump aren’t what you would call groundbreaking when you consider that a new CNN/ORC poll found that Trump had the lowest approval ratings of any newly-elected president as he approaches the 100-day mark, with 54 percent saying they disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency.
Yet those people who likely share the same feelings as Legend, and many whom are probably more qualified, aren’t asked if they are considering getting into politics in the future.
Thankfully, Legend is not considering it. He seems to realize that being famous and having an opinion doesn’t make you qualified to run for office.
He point-blank told TMZ he would not consider running for office. “I don’t want to be in office. I do what I do and I love what I do. I’m an activist, but not a politician.”
Not being able to take a hint, TMZ’s cameraman continued to press Legend, telling him that he thought the American people might vote him in. Legend wisely responded, “That’s not the point. I don’t want to run.”
For two decades, the press has been pestering George Clooney with the same question, though his answer has always been no. “Believe me, you don’t want me in politics,” he told the Associated Press in 2006.
At a 2015 press conference in Beverly Hills for the film “Our Brand is Crisis,” the question about running for office came up yet again.
“I’ve been asked that for almost 20 years now and the answer is just, no,” said Clooney, who produced the film. “Who would ever want to live like that?”
Clooney, with his history of humanitarian causes, has long been thought to make the jump to politics despite his protests otherwise, but ever since Trump won, it’s been open season on celebrities with dissenting political opinions.
Stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson,Scarlett Johansson, Katy Perry and Tom Hanks are actually being asked if they have political plans in their future. The question is only being asked because these individuals voiced their opinions about Trump, yet in asking them, it legitimizes the idea that fame is somehow a qualification for the presidency.