Tuesday night’s election may have shocked Hollywood, but to regular Americans, the real surprise was the level of elite, out-of-touch condescension that dominated Kamala Harris’s campaign. With her platform flanked by a chorus of celebrities, Harris tried to sell herself as the champion of the people but it turned out that having Hollywood on her side was more of a liability than an asset. In 2024, America’s A-listers tried to hand-pick the country’s next president, and instead, they pushed regular voters away.

Celebrities have long injected themselves into politics, but this cycle was particularly shameless. Harris’s campaign leaned heavily on endorsements from pop stars, actors, and self-anointed activists show up once every four years to tell Americans what to think and what to do. From Beyoncé’s fake concert bait-and-switch event with her half-hearted Instagram post to the Avengers’ Zoom reunion where they decided a good catch phrase for Kamala should be “Kamala Harris, down with Democracy!” Absolutely brilliant. It was a spectacle, and America thankfully didn’t buy it.

Take Cher, for example. The iconic singer has always been vocal about her disdain for Trump, famously claiming back in 2015 that she’d “move to Jupiter” if he ever became president. By 2023, she was still at it, comparing Trump to Hitler and telling The Guardian that Trump’s presidency had nearly given her an ulcer and threatened to leave the country if he won again. As the election results rolled in, you could almost picture Cher packing a cosmic suitcase and glancing wistfully at the stars. Come on Cher, I’ll help you pack! If only Republican rocker Sonny was still here he’d put her in her place.

Cher wasn’t the only Hollywood figure who promised to make a run for it if Trump returned to the White House. Samuel L. Jackson took to social media in 2024 as one of Kamala’s loudest supporters. Jackson warned voters to “choose wisely,” as though failing to support Kamala would unleash some wrath-of-God-style vengeance. For many Americans, this dramatic appeal felt like more Hollywood hyperbole, especially from a guy who once swore he’d move to South Africa if Trump won. It turns out that the path of the righteous man may lead anywhere… as long as it’s still in the U.S., and close to a movie set.

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston warned that Trump’s re-election would be a “toxic threat” to America’s democracy and urged voters to back Kamala, condescendingly saying “I‘m not a politician; I’m not a doctor or a lawyer, but I have played all of this on television.”  But for regular Americans, the real instability was watching a multimillionaire in a $5 million California beachfront mansion lecture them on “what’s best” for the country. Cranston, it seems, was high on his own supply of Hollywood sanctimony, more eager to play the role of moral crusader than to understand the concerns of voters outside his gated neighborhood. Trump is the one who knocks.

Whoopi Goldberg, someone I once loved as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost and as Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act, has morphed into a toxic crusader on The View. She refused to even say Trump’s name, declaring, “He’s the president. I’m still not going to say his name—that’s not going to change.” Watching her tirades, you can almost imagine her calling on divine intervention to save her credibility. Whoopi has transformed from Hollywood’s funny nun to a full-time scold, and if she ever hopes to win back the Americans she’s alienated, she’ll need all the help she can get — God, the sisters of the church, and a miracle thrown in for good measure.

If there was one celebrity who went all-in on Kamala Harris, it was Cardi B. The WAP rapper championed Harris on social media, in interviews, and even took the stage at a November rally, where she declared herself and Kamala “underdogs” who had been underestimated by everyone. In Cardi’s words, “I didn’t have faith in any candidates until she joined and spoke the words I wanted to hear about the future of this country.” But after Trump’s victory, Cardi’s “underdog” spirit turned feral. In a video filmed in a Target parking lot on November 6, she issued a warning to Trump supporters that was equal parts absurd and unhinged: “Listen, I’mma let y’all know this right now… Y’all need to leave me the f–k alone. Because I got one more f–king cigarette in me before I start lighting your asses up. Aight?”

For many regular Americans, Cardi’s video was just more Hollywood drama — a multimillionaire furiously pacing through a Target lot, threatening to “light up” her political opponents over a cigarette. Between this and her heartfelt Instagram post to Kamala about “running with honesty and integrity,” it’s no wonder voters rolled their eyes. Cardi may have compared herself to Kamala as an “underdog,” but by now, it seems she’s simply high on her own melodrama. Her parting message to the country? “I hate y’all bad.” Well, the feeling may be mutual.

And we can’t not mention Taylor Swift, who emerged as an avatar for the affluent white female liberal — or “AWFL” — demographic. Swift’s endorsement of Kamala was everything we’ve come to expect from her: polished, heartfelt, and dripping with entitlement. Her fans, the “Swifties,” turned Kamala’s campaign into a near-militant crusade against men, backfired so extreme that it likely drove young men to the polls as response. Swift’s praise for Kamala’s “honesty” and “integrity” came across as more Hollywood sanctimony, and her attempt to play sheepherder looked like just another AWFL wielding her “Karen energy” for clicks. For most Americans, it was as tone-deaf as her whiny breakup music.

And then there was Jimmy Kimmel, former Man Show, Juggies-ogling, misogynist turned leftist feminist activist – choking back tears as he reacted to Trump’s victory on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “It was a terrible night,” he declared, for “women, children, immigrants, health care, science, journalism” — practically every institution in America, if you ask him. Kimmel went on to claim it was even a bad night for Trump’s own supporters, who, he insisted, “just don’t realize it yet.” Yeah Jimmy, we’re all terrified of peace in the Middle East (Hamas just called for an immediate end to the war), and peace through strength (China is making submissive noises).

While Hollywood celebrities cried foul and lectured the public about “democracy” from their gated mansions, one notable figure took a different approach… and he didn’t even do it from a mansion, since he doesn’t own one. Elon Musk — a billionaire, yes, but one who famously sold off his real estate and reportedly lives in a $50,000 prefab house near his SpaceX facility — made his stance clear without the moral theatrics. After endorsing Trump in July, Musk embraced a practical role in the administration, suggesting he could help run a “Department of Government Efficiency” (D.O.G.E.) aimed at slashing $2 trillion from the federal budget. “No pay, no title, no recognition is needed,” Musk remarked, emphasizing that his involvement would be about action, not ego.

Musk’s influence in this election cycle was the polar opposite of the Hollywood elite’s — he didn’t pander or posture, he simply spoke plainly about shrinking government and restoring accountability. As he told Joe Rogan, he wants to “curtail [federal] agencies to be much smaller” and “clear the decks” of needless regulations, adding, “If we remove some regulation or agency that was doing something useful, we can put it right back.” In an era of performative politics, Musk’s straightforward approach — focused on tangible results rather than virtue signaling — struck a chord with voters who are tired of empty rhetoric. Americans have made it clear: they’re done with Hollywood’s lectures and are ready for real voices with real solutions. Elon Musk, with his modest lifestyle and pragmatic vision, embodies the kind of change they’re looking for.