Commentary: From Trump to Dr. Oz: 10 personalities who went from reality TV to politics
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Perhaps it was predictable that reality TV would become a pipeline into American politics.After all, political theater was the ultimate unscripted spectacle before reality TV became a genre unto itself.
Consider the raw drama of the first televised presidential debate, where a sweaty Richard Nixon and confident John F.Kennedy traded barbs.
Or Anita Hill’s should-have-been-damning testimony against then-Supreme Court justice candidate Clarence Thomas during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in 1991.Or President George W.
Bush’s 2003 “mission accomplished” speech from a carrier off the coast of California, mere weeks into a war in Iraq that lasted years.Modern programmed reality TV isn’t political theater, but it has become a springboard into modern politics for some stars of the genre.
From President Trump to Dr.Oz, Caitlyn Jenner to Sean Duffy, campaigns and political offices are littered with the names of former cast members from reality series.
Here’s a list of the most memorable jumps from trash TV to the smoldering dumpster of 21st century politics.Before he was a two-time president of the United States, Trump was one of America’s most recognizable make-believe bosses thanks to his 14-season run on NBC’s reality competition “The Apprentice,” created by reality TV kingmaker Mark Burnett.With his practiced executive scowl and scripted boardroom catchphrase, “You’re fired!,” the show burnished his image as a decisive billionaire dealmaker, even as his real-life business results were far less impressive.
Off camera, Trump’s businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection six times between 1991 and 2014.Never mind.
It was his knack for showmanship, and his undying need for attention, that proved the perfect entry into post-decorum politics.How does pretending to be in charge on a middling reality competition qualify anyone to safely and s...