Your eyes are rolling so hard at the moment at the headline that I can practically hear the friction all the way to central Texas. Come on, man, you must be thinking. There is no chance at all that Tinseltown will go full MAGA!
I didn't say that, however, and neither did the Washington Sun. Instead, Hollywood allies that helped push Democrats into a blue wave in Donald Trump's first midterm eight years ago have lost their taste for party politics. That may leave Democrats without their normal messaging power in a cycle that may turn more difficult for the same reasons that are alienating these creatives:
Some of the Hollywood figures who helped Democrats retake the House in 2018 are reluctant to help them do it again.
Screenwriters, directors and other entertainment industry figures who once coached Democratic candidates, wrote their speeches and helped run rapid response operations are, at best, unmotivated to help this cycle and, at worst, entirely disillusioned with the party. Still, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ camp has been turning to industry types as a messaging resource, but some executives are upset that leaders can’t control the caucus’ growing progressive wing.
“The Democratic Party right now is torn in a couple directions, and some of those directions I’m no longer willing to work for or countenance, and so I’m a lot more sparing about it,” Gregg Hurwitz, a novelist and screenwriter known for his thriller series “Orphan X,” told The Washington Sun.
At this point, readers may ask themselves: What is a Washington Sun? Mark Judge will have a longer look at it tomorrow – and trust me, it will be fun – but it's the new branding for what had been NOTUS. Its editor-in-chief is a veteran of Salon, and some of its staff came over from the Washington Post. In other words, it's not a conservative platform wishcasting a Hollywood revolt, regardless of whatever other credibility issues may exist.
What catalyst pushed Hurwitz to distance himself? The Biden Regency cover-up and the Maoist practices of the Democrats in defending it. But the rise of the DSA and the party's connection to Islamism hasn't helped either:
Hurwitz worked with Democratic campaigns between 2015 and 2022 but said he decided to leave the party after helping former Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minnesota) challenge President Joe Biden in the 2024 primary. He cited the fact that Phillips faced attacks for raising concerns about Biden’s age and said vendors associated with Phillips were met with threats of being blacklisted for life — behavior he compared to the Chinese Communist Party. ...
For Hurwitz, the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America and “having candidates winning primaries now who have stated overtly that America is worse than Hamas and that white women are ‘ugly colonialist women,’” is not behavior he could condone, he said. “To me, it’s a measure of extremism that the left has permitted without drawing a line that is incredibly threatening.”
Hurwitz has distanced himself more than most, re-registering as an independent. He's still open to working with political candidates, but Hurwitz says he'll work with members of both parties on campaigns that he feels comfortable supporting.
Another creative who went on record with the Sun went in a different direction. Marshall Herskovitz also has grown entirely disgusted with the Democrat Party leadership, but for different reasons. Herskovitz calls it "ossified" and mainly concerned with keeping its bureaucracy paid. Herskovitz hasn't abandoned work for Democrat candidates, however, and his disillusionment lands more on the party's impotence with Trump. However, one unnamed creative has stopped working with Democrats entirely because their "Harvard faculty lounge" vocabulary has become impossible to package effectively. More than one of their sources pointed specifically to the word "affordability" as particularly tone-deaf.
Why would this matter? The A-listers aren't keeping their distance. James Talarico and Jon Ossoff just spent last weekend fundraising in Los Angeles, which largely means Hollywood. Mark Ruffalo and Robert DeNiro won't suddenly discover their inner Zen and stop their rants about Orange Man Bad, Israel, or whatever is on the hard-Left agenda of the day.
However, the creatives matter. The celebrities and the cash are valuable too, but the creatives package the propaganda and sell it to the masses. If these creatives have checked out, Democrat candidates will have to start doing it themselves, and ... let's just say that it will be a step down, at least.
Internet dumbfounded over resurfaced Abdul El-Sayed 'Blue's Clues' spoof: 'Can't be real' https://t.co/zzOM1OkMad pic.twitter.com/EEAkZ2Cz3p
— New York Post (@nypost) August 13, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed dropped a sexualized U.S. Senate ad called “Senate Island” to sell his socialist platform in the most perverted and un-American way possible. pic.twitter.com/Vjby2a5uvN
— Justin (@JustinUSA) September 1, 2026
Small wonder these Hollywood creatives have decided to focus their attention elsewhere in this cycle. You have to have a product consumers want to create an ad campaign that will sell it.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
Help HotAir continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member