Still Outnumbered, Hollywood Conservatives Wave Their Flags a Little Higher as Trump 2.0 Begins | Analysis

Tech CEOs and billionaires occupied conspicuous seats of honor as Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States. Yet his return to the White House also appears to have encouraged and buoyed the spirits of conservatives within the entertainment industry, while perhaps softening reticence of others — who might not be ardent supporters — to be seen alongside his new administration.

The presence of megarich CEOs Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook, coupled with the ongoing drama surrounding the fate and future of TikTok, kept the focus on that sector through much of the inaugural weekend. Still, the build-up to Trump taking the oath of office — in an event moved indoors supposedly due to the frigid weather in Washington, D.C. — featured several moments indicating that Hollywood is also seeking to adapt to again dealing with a Trump administration, and how to publicly navigate those sure-to-be-perilous waters.

Plenty of Hollywood and music-industry A-listers campaigned for Kamala Harris during the presidential election, and there’s little doubt that the town’s political leanings heavily favor Democrats.

Despite being outnumbered, Trump has always had outspoken supporters among high-profile talent, including actors like James Woods and Jon Voight, and musical figures such as Kid Rock and Ted Nugent. On Jan. 16, Trump designated Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, describing the honorary role as a form of outreach to the entertainment community.

Trump couldn’t resist delivering the news with a jab, referring to Hollywood as “a great but very troubled place.” (Gibson, once a near-pariah in Hollywood, indicated he learned of the “appointment” at the same time everyone else did, via a Truth Social post, but said he was happy to serve.)

How well those emissaries will be received could be another matter, with Hollywood conservatives long arguing that they have paid a professional price for not aligning with the prevailing politics of their community. After publicly endorsing Trump in September, “Shazam!” and “Chuck” star Zachary Levi suggested that he could be committing “career suicide,” given the preponderance of those holding “very liberal” views in Hollywood.

After the election, Levi walked those comments back, telling Bill Maher on the comic’s podcast that he had plenty of work lined up and didn’t anticipate being “canceled,” as Maher put it, adding, “If it happens, it happens.”

Still, there’s a sense in some quarters that those who feel they have been shunned for their views could be more open about them in the future. Actor Kevin Sorbo, an outspoken Trump supporter and cultural warrior who starred as Hercules in the syndicated TV show from the 1990s, responded to the announcement of the ambassadors by wryly posting on X that it might be time for him to return to Hollywood.

Trump’s electoral victory has already prompted major tech CEOs to make pilgrimages to visit him at Mar-a-Lago — on a transactional basis, many have concluded, hoping to protect their business interests — raising the possibility that some of their Hollywood counterparts might follow suit. (Bezos and Cook both have direct hands in Hollywood through their respective streaming services, Amazon’s Prime Video and Apple TV+, and Amazon has already made a deal for a docuseries featuring First Lady Melania Trump.)

Thanks to his career before entering politics, which included “The Celebrity Apprentice,” Trump has plenty of ties within the entertainment industry. He has nevertheless frequently chafed at criticism from outspoken stars who support progressive causes and candidates. The result has been a series of social media skirmishes dating back to Trump calling Meryl Streep “overrated” the day after she derided the then-president-elect during the 2017 Golden Globes.

The hostility toward celebrity involvement in the campaign also lingers in conservative circles. During a pre-inaugural rally, Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News commentator who publicly supported Trump, mocked stars who had spoken out on Harris’ behalf, from Jennifer Lopez to Oprah Winfrey to Streep.

“Hollywood celebrities who get up there and try to tell us how to vote. Really?” Kelly told the crowd, adding that such stars “know nothing about anything.” She also referenced a Streep quote about producer Harvey Weinstein’s power in Hollywood — one made long before he faced prosecution for sexual assault — before adding, “Maybe we shouldn’t go to her for our political advice.”

Granted, the same event featured appearances by Voight and Kid Rock, reflecting one of the dichotomies of conservatives when it comes to Hollywood — deriding the industry broadly while enthusiastically celebrating those who have joined in the MAGA cause.

At the same time, performers again experienced over the weekend the stark polarization of the current political climate, and the risk of facing blowback from appearing to tacitly bless the Trump administration in any way. That was evident in the social media ire directed at rappers Snoop Dogg and Nelly for performing at pre-inaugural events, and advance criticism of Carrie Underwood when she agreed to sing at the inauguration. (Underwood’s rendition of “America the Beautiful” was briefly delayed by technical difficulties before she ultimately sang a cappella Monday.)

Ultimately, though, the presence of the tech CEOs and billionaires prominently featured at the swearing-in ceremony drew some of the most pointed commentary on progressive network MSNBC, which saw a message in their presence and took note of it throughout the morning.

“How is this happening?” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow asked, citing the positioning of Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk and Cook within camera view. “Why are people with tons of money up on the dais with cabinet nominees and family members?”

Moved indoors because of the weather, Trump’s inaugural address was delivered in more cramped surroundings than the image-conscious president likely wanted, and ran only 30 minutes, relatively short compared to his famously lengthy rally speeches. He did speak more expansively with followers after the formal address.

“The Golden Age of America begins right now,” Trump said, mixing a few conciliatory notes with plenty of more provocative ones aimed at his political base. He expressed the goal, for example, to be “a unifier and a peacemaker,” while laying out a number of less-than-unifying policies.

Trump also pledged to “stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America,” said it would be official government policy to recognize only two genders and cited the goal of reaching Mars, prompting an exuberant reaction, caught by the cameras, from Musk. The wealthy Trump supporter and SpaceX mastermind has regularly spoken of traveling to Mars as one of his major objectives.

The post Still Outnumbered, Hollywood Conservatives Wave Their Flags a Little Higher as Trump 2.0 Begins | Analysis appeared first on TheWrap.