Donald Trump’s Victory Leaves Hollywood in Soul-Searching Mode
Following Trump’s victory on November 6, left-leaning Hollywood activists are shifting their focus from a broad “resistance” against the president to shoring up policies and advocating for progressive legislation at the state and local levels.
Industry leaders predict that the focus will be on protecting vulnerable communities, fighting for the preservation of rights, and pushing for policies that are under threat. Climate change, reproductive rights, and immigration are expected to be top concerns for the left-leaning, industry-activist set.
Hollywood-backed organizations focused on climate solutions, such as The Solutions Project, will be focused on supporting community climate initiatives at the state and local levels. The Mark Ruffalo-co-founded nonprofit will continue to leverage celebrity supporters, training, and grants to support community climate initiatives.
The Jane Fonda Climate PAC has been supporting candidates in down-ballot races, seeing local and state elected officials as a firewall against potential changes from the Trump administration.
Some advocates argue that Hollywood can have a greater impact on local races than on national contests. Comedians, documentarians, and actors have already been donating to and supporting local politicians in Los Angeles, and this trend is expected to continue.
Democrats are rethinking their approach to deploying celebrities after the 2024 presidential election results, and it remains to be seen how beneficial star endorsements can be to political candidates. However, one executive director has observed that celebrities can bring a certain volunteer recruitment and fundraising prowess to down-ballot races.
The shift in focus from national to local activism could represent a shift away from the diffuse anti-Trump Hollywood activism that unfolded after Trump’s 2016 election. With major distributors already shying away from films perceived to be potentially divisive or politically charged, it remains to be seen how much appetite the business and its leaders will have for blatantly anti-Trump projects.