On February 3, 2024, Saturday Night Live (SNL) aired a skit mocking former President Donald Trump. Part of the act was having former UN Ambassador and presidential candidate Nikki Haley comment on his old age. As part of the skit’s end, host Ayo Edebiri asked Haley if she thought slavery was the proximate cause of the Civil War, to which Ambassador Haley replied, “Yep. I probably should’ve said that the first time,” referencing her widely publicized failure to mention slavery when asked the same question by a voter.
Politicians have used late-night talk shows to campaign since the 1960s. Some have criticized politicians for such appearances, calling them unprofessional and more conducive to performance than sober policy discussion. However, these critiques fail to acknowledge the bottom line—media appearances make names known. Politicians venturing out into entertainment media benefit both themselves and the networks that host them. Primarily, media exposure allows candidates to personalize and humanize themselves. Friendly banter on a talk show and playful posting on social media make politicians relatable and create an image of transparency that makes candidates more appealing to voters. Furthermore, candidates who appear in the media and thereby introduce themselves to a broader swathe of the population open new streams of revenue—especially from smaller donors—which can potentially foster the kind of bottom-up political engagement that is central to the democratic ideal of equal participation.
The practice of candidates participating in mass media began in 1960, when then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy sat down with comedian Jack Paar on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. Despite Paar’s efforts, Kennedy kept the show serious, covering hot topics that would come up during the debates with his opponent, Richard Nixon. The switch toward a more lax, comedic role occurred when Nixon delivered the punchline in a segment called “Sock it to Me” on the NBC show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. This appearance, only five seconds long, set a precedent for future candidates and leaders. Since then, political campaigns have been perceived as incomplete without numerous TV appearances, both of the formal and casual variety.
Making cameos and opening accounts on social media platforms is also a way for candidates to achieve the celebrity effect, a marketing strategy that moves consumers to desire an item based on a positive association with a famous figure. Social media has no barriers, and it is both easy to use and cheap to access. This has led to an increase in the number of candidates opening official campaign accounts whose purpose is to increase voter turnout. The combination of “Get Out The Vote” ads, candidate videos, and reminders on social media from platforms themselves has heavily contributed to an increase in youth voter turnout, which has historically been limited relative to other demographics. The 2020 election saw a surge of voters, with early voting breaking the record at 99.7 million early votes submitted, which was “two-thirds of the total votes cast in 2016.” Though most of the growth in early voting can be attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased visibility of politicians on social media caused voters to know the names of candidates, and, most importantly, to show up to the polls.
After first-time candidates opened campaign accounts on X, donations of $1,000 or less to their campaigns increased by up to 22.8 percent in 2014. Increased small donor funding represents a sign that ordinary voters are paying attention to the information they are receiving through the media and spending their dollars accordingly, allowing them to influence electoral outcomes more than ever before.
Admittedly, the use of social media platforms in political campaigns can have negative effects. Social media feeds are responsive, meaning they show content based on what users interact with. Using this to their advantage, extremist populist groups appeal to users’ emotions surrounding fear and government distrust (typically after major events like terror attacks or nationwide protests) to promote their party’s beliefs and candidates. For instance, according to a Brookings chart that compares the Facebook fan growth of three German political parties, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) gained a significant number of followers immediately after it began posting about sexual assaults that occurred in Cologne on New Year’s Eve of 2015. The posts appealed to anti-immigration sentiments, and the algorithm boosted these posts, helping them reach a larger audience.
While there is always a risk of extremism, politicians should embrace making media appearances. Seeing a candidate on a late-night TV show or while scrolling through a social media app’s feed is the new norm and has contributed to increases in voter turnout and candidate approachability. Being on Instagram and leaving a comment on a candidate’s post seems more feasible and engaging than writing a letter to their office, which is unlikely to ever be read. At the end of the day, politicians sell their views, personalities, and overall image as much as they do a policy vision during their campaigns, and media appearances allow them to do this efficiently and effectively.