With the runup to the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election well underway, plenty of hype is gathering across the public. Naturally, many Americans are getting all the more excited about the upcoming elections as their favorite celebrities voice their views. Still, it wasn’t only in the current era of technology and social media that celebrity presidential endorsements reigned supreme. Here are some iconic celebrities through the ages who endorsed US presidential candidates.
Babe Ruth
One of the greatest baseball players in history, Babe Ruth was a stanch Democrat. In addition to claiming that President Wilson was a good friend of his, Ruth also formed a close bond with President Warren G. Harding. While Harding was a Republican, he and Ruth saw eye-to-eye, with Ruth even calling Harding a “personal friend” in a letter honoring the president upon his passing. Ruth’s most controversial political moment came when he was asked to pose for a photograph with Herbert Hoover, to which Ruth replied that he was supporting his opponent Al Smith.
Sammy Davis Jr.
Despite his enormous fame, Sammy Davis Jr.’s political influence was not as positive as he hoped. During the 1972 Republican National Convention’s Young Voters Rally, the iconic singer hugged President Richard Nixon from behind. “This completely ruined Davis’s relationship with the Black community and he was nearly booed off the stage at a Chicago rally for Jesse Jackson’s charity Rainbow PUSH a few months later,” NYU professor Laurence Maslon noted.
Barbra Streisand
The multitalented singer and actress Barbra Streisand has been politically active for decades. Having supported Bill Clinton’s 1996 election campaign, Streisand decided to endorse his wife, Hillary, when she ran in the Democratic primaries in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election.