Robert De Niro is angry. He is there, surrounded by two police officers present during the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, “real heroes” says the actor – which is true -, in front of the New York court where Donald Trump is on trial for several weeks. The cult actor Freed, of Casino or Taxi Driver never hid his hatred of the former and perhaps future president, which earned him a parcel bomb received at his home. And there he is, 80-year-old De Niro against Trump: “Donald Trump not only wants to destroy this city, but the country, and ultimately he might destroy the world.” It’s a Hollywood meeting, we can’t blame him, organized by Joe Biden’s campaign team: “When Trump ran in 2016, he was like a joke, a buffoon running for president. But we have forgotten the lessons of history, which show us that other clowns were not taken seriously until they became fierce dictators.” And it is true that the Trump of 2024 is not the Trump of 2016, he is the candidate who wants “revenge”, to make pay all those who “stole” the 2020 election from him – yes, he “screws the chips “, in a country where guns outnumber people. And, seeing the sequences of insults, even beatings, in front of the New York court, we can legitimately fear the worst. All right. But.
This is not the first time that actors have committed to the Democratic side; already in 2016, to support Hillary Clinton, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, James Franco, Don Cheadle, Stanley Tucci, Mark Ruffalo, Martin Sheen, Julianne Moore had participated in a video to push Americans to register on the lists elections, and above all not to vote for Trump, without pronouncing his name – the “Voldemort” effect, the one whose name we do not pronounce. Our courageous actors had also sacrificed humor: the speakers assured that if Americans registered en masse on the electoral rolls, actor Mark Ruffalo would play a nude scene in his next film. We fight as best we can with the weapons we have. All right. But.
As soon as I heard De Niro, I instantly thought of Romain Gary. In white dog, one of his masterpieces among many others, he recounts a fundraising sequence to support the (legitimate) cause of civil rights in the house of a producer in Bel-Air where all of Hollywood was gathered: ” Personalities who have sometimes reached the heights of success frequently hide an obscure feeling of inferiority because nothing is enough for them; egomaniacs never receive enough external signs of respect or adoration.
Elite collusion
And this compulsive need to be adored by Hollywood stars who clear their consciences by supporting the good cause and engaging in the fight against the (real) danger that is Trump gives fodder to pro-Trump conspiracists, who see in the agreement between Washington and Hollywood proof of the collusion of the elites, who snub and despise the voters of the “rust belt” of which they are, those who listen to country and still believe or would still like to believe in the American dream .
Precisely, country and Tennessee, that’s where Taylor Swift, who has become the undisputed pop star, comes from. And, seeing the hatred of the Republicans and the hope of the Democrats to hear her declare in favor of Joe Biden, we say to ourselves that yes, she could influence 18% of the votes alone – as estimated by a poll of Newsweek. With her 283 million Instagram subscribers and 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, the richest artist in the music world has become a political influencer by recounting her heartaches in glitter and Hollywood shows while still appearing sincere and authentic.
And perhaps this is what politicians lack most today: authenticity, proximity, a language in common with their voters. And as difficult as it is to hear and accept, this is where Donald Trump scores points: the New York millionaire reality TV star, therefore at the top of the pyramid of artificiality, managed to ring true and speaking the language common to millions of Americans who feel far, so far, from Hollywood.
Abnousse Shalmani, committed against the obsession with identity, is a writer and journalist
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