During prime time last night, 10 Republican presidential hopefuls gathered in Cleveland for the first official GOP primary debate. Two thousand miles away in Los Angeles, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton was being feted at what we imagine to be a much swankier affair: a campaign fundraiser. It was a pretty run-of-the-mill, posh fundraising event, and we might not even have heard about it if two of the most famous people in the world had not been in attendance.
That's right: Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West were there to support Hillary. Not only did they attend the event, but Kim tweeted about how excited she was to "meet our next President" to her 34.2 million followers. Naturally, she was very eager to take a selfie with Hillary.
Before the night was over, Kim, Kanye, and Hillary posed for that photo. "I got my selfie!!! I really loved hearing her speak & hearing her goals for our country! #HillaryForPresident," Kim excitedly tweeted. She also shared the photo with her 41.8 million Instagram followers. Thus far, it's garnered over 22,000 comments and 764,000 likes. Hillary Clinton has never received more than 6,600 comments and 26,000 likes on one of her Instagram photos (her very first).
Could Kim Kardashian West's massive fan base hear their leader's rallying cry and be roused to support her chosen presidential candidate? Well, it should be noted that a portion of Kim's (and Kanye's) fan base is most likely international, which means they're unable to vote in the 2016 election. Nevertheless, some of Kim's followers may have previously been apathetic or indifferent as to who will take Barack Obama's place in the White House when his second term ends. Seeing Kim care about politics and social issues could be the push they need to get informed themselves.
Now, we hear your scoffs and scorn. But as we've previously stated: Some people don't read the news, nor do they make a habit of being informed about politics. If it takes a celebrity they love voicing her opinion about a candidate for her fans to start paying attention, then so be it. Hopefully, Kim and Kanye's fans won't follow them blindly into voting for Hillary Clinton (everyone should research all of the candidates to decide who gets their vote), but at least we'll have more young voters engaging with the 2016 election.
Last night marked a very interesting turn of events. Kim and Kanye will definitely open some previously unknowing eyes to Hillary Clinton and her candidacy for president. For her part, Hillary definitely seemed to enjoy the boost she got from Kimye. She shared Kim's selfie on her Instagram account with the caption, "New friends."