Opinion: Why celebrities should not run for public office

Dwane+Johnson+recently+has+been+in+the+news%2C+with+many+people+pushing+him+towards+important+political+office.+

Dwane Johnson recently has been in the news, with many people pushing him towards important political office.

Yi (Steven) Yang, Staff Writer

President Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was an actor, starring in many films before his presidency. Donald Trump, the 45th president, was the owner of a private conglomerate and a prominent reality TV producer. There are many more examples of celebrities who gained a seat in the United States government through their fame. 

Although celebrities may have more public support that can propel them into public office easily, celebrities should not run for the most important public offices. 

It is important to note that celebrities are definitely allowed to run for public office under the Constitution. However, for various reasons, they should not run. 

Although celebrities may have good points and have popular support to run for office, they lack the experience necessary to make decisions that will affect millions of people in the United States and potentially billions world-wide. 

There is the valid argument that career politicians are not especially trustworthy. However, these politicians all have political experience in domestic or international matters. Even the younger politicians start at the lower levels of government to gain experience. 

Most celebrities who run for public office go for the most talked about elections – the presidency or governor. However, they did not gather political experience in congress or elsewhere. As a result, I believe that they are not qualified for important positions. 

In addition, the votes that are cast towards the celebrities may be solely based on the fact that they are famous and accomplished in a field outside of politics. That should not be a factor in considering who holds the position. 

Because most celebrities don’t have enough political experience governing people, they are lacking in the experience to be a major politician like the president. They should start on something small like running for a mayor or going to a law school if they really want to be a politician but if the celeb is famous at the moment, it is likely that they want to use the fame to get the position easily,” says Gavin Wang (‘23). 

For these reasons, celebrities should not run for public office. Instead, they can use their platforms to spread their message to the people or to politicians, or even donate to causes they feel are important.