What is Donald Trump? Forms of ‘Celebrity’ in Celebrity Politics
| Author | John Street |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929918772995 |
| Published date | 01 February 2019 |
| Date | 01 February 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929918772995
Political Studies Review
2019, Vol. 17(1) 3 –13
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929918772995
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What is Donald Trump?
Forms of ‘Celebrity’ in
Celebrity Politics
John Street
Abstract
It is widely assumed that Donald Trump is a ‘celebrity politician’ and that he has cashed in his
success on the reality show The Apprentice to secure political credibility and attention. In this
respect, he fits what Matthew Wood et al. have labelled the ‘superstar celebrity politician’. This
characterisation is the latest in a number of refinements to the definition and understanding of the
celebrity politician. While this is a helpful move, I want to suggest that it might overlook one key
dimension of the phenomenon. Definitions of the celebrity politician tend to focus on the source
of their ‘celebrity’ – how they became famous, rather than on how they act out their celebrity
role. This latter dimension features in media coverage, where journalists and commentators
borrow from show business to describe politics, but is less often analysed in the political science
literature. It matters because, I want to suggest, celebrity politicians like Trump act as stars,
whether of reality television, rock music or film. They do not just resemble stars, they are them.
This is evident in how they are represented, how they perform and how their ‘fans’ respond to
them. It is also symptomatic of wider changes in the conduct and form of the contemporary,
mediatised political realm.
Keywords
Donald Trump, celebrity politics, populism, mediatisation
Accepted: 21 March 2018
Media reporting of elections and of political leaders draws parallels with the world of
entertainment. Journalistic metaphors and analogies are designed to capture the style of
the politician and the response they elicit; they also serve to explain them. Here are three
examples:
Emmanuel Macron is getting rock star attention and audiences to match. He’s not quite biting
the heads off bats yet, but his rallies do have a particular kind of energy (Lucy Williamson,
Today, BBC Radio 4, 26 January 2017).
School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Corresponding author:
John Street, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies, University of East Anglia,
Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
Email: j.street@uea.ac.uk
772995PSW0010.1177/1478929918772995Political Studies ReviewStreet
research-article2018
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