Zach Galifianakis Urges Democrats to Shift Campaign Focus from Celebrities

Zach Galifianakis believes the Democratic Party should be cautious about relying too much on celebrity endorsements.

The Hangover actor recently shared his thoughts on how Democrats campaigning in the current election should handle their Hollywood connections.

“As a small-town guy from North Carolina… I do wish the DNC would step back from the celebrities a little bit,” he mentioned to Variety during the premiere party for Only Murders in the Building season 4, in which he stars. “It works to a point, but they have to win over rural America.”

Galifianakis’ concern seems to stem from his fear that the general American public views the entertainment industry as disconnected from the common person. “Hollywood thinks it’s so important and that’s a problem,” he stated. “Actors are people too, and they’re citizens too, but I’m more on the small-town side of that than I am on the Hollywood side of that. That’s just me.”

Meanwhile, Kumail Nanjiani — who has joined the cast of Only Murders’ fourth season alongside Galifianakis, Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, Melissa McCarthy, and Molly Shannon — told the outlet that he plans to support the Kamala Harris campaign in any way he can. “I’m going to make videos to get people to register to vote,” he said, adding, “I might make some appearances later.”

“It’s really unbelievable how I was feeling a month and a half ago and how I’m feeling now. It’s really inspiring,” Nanjiani said, referring to the renewed passion Harris’ candidacy has ignited among Democrat voters after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July. “This has given me faith in humanity. I just feel lighter and happier. I am fighting to stay hopeful and not get too optimistic or confident. There’s still a lot of work to do.”

The 2024 Democratic National Convention featured a broad range of celebrity appearances, including Longoria, Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Stephen Curry, Mindy Kaling, Kerry Washington, Kenan Thompson, John Legend, Lil Jon, Common, Maren Morris, Tony Goldwyn, and Jason Isbell.

Galifianakis has previously questioned the close ties between celebrity culture and politics. “America’s obsession with celebrity is a mental illness,” the comedian declared during a 2022 appearance on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. “It’s how we ended up with a celebrity president,” he added, referring to former POTUS Donald Trump.

In fact, when Trump was campaigning in 2016, Galifianakis expressed “no interest” in featuring the ex-Apprentice host on his comedy talk show Between Two Ferns, despite having invited Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. “He’s the kind of guy who likes attention — bad attention or good attention,” Galifianakis told the Los Angeles Times. “So you’re dealing with a psychosis that’s a little weird. I wouldn’t have somebody on that’s so mentally challenged. I feel like I’d be taking advantage of him.”