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Ahead of the Curve with Coco Mocoe
Why Kim Kardashian could be the next President of the United States
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Kokomoko
On May 26, 2023, the Hollywood Reporter published an article titled LA Mayor Karen Bass Turns Down $600 Skims Swag Bag from Kim Kardashian. This caught my eye because Kim Kardashian only a year before publicly endorsed Rick Caruso for LA mayor in a video that was posted to her Twitter. Caruso was Bass Republican opponent in the high profile election in Los Angeles. So why was Kim Kardashian trying to get in with the new mayor who had come out on top a few years prior? Kim Kardashian began her public journey towards becoming a lawyer like her late father, Robert Kardashian Senior. While she hasn't passed the baby bar yet, I do want to say that I think it is vulnerable to pursue a higher education and I don't want make fun of her for that. Even if you fail, at least you're trying. It's still honorable to put yourself out there and also to do it on a public stage. There is nothing wrong with wanting to learn more. Around the same time that Kim began her pursuit at becoming a lawyer around 2018, she also began publicly working to exonerate inmates with hefty sentences that some would argue didn't fit the crime. In 2020, the New York Times published an article titled Inside Kim Kardashian's Prison Reform Machine and I will link that in the show notes if you want to read it. On the top of the article they talk about Kim Kardashian's visit to President Trump in the White House as she campaigned to exonerate prisoners with hefty sentences. The team that accompanied her, and it was filmed for the Kardashian show, they were given White House goodie bags with MAGA hats included. This was what I believe was a series of strategic moves in Kim Kardashian's campaign to be the United States President one day. Now stick with me here in this episode of Ahead of the Curve with Kokomoko, I'm going to take you on a deep dive into why I believe Kim Kardashian wants to desperately enter the political realm. I published a long form TikTok last week that had an overwhelming response of you guys wanting me to make it into a deep dive. Video essay. I could talk about this for hours. So here we are. Buckle up coconuts. Side note, we got a shout out from Trisha Paytas, so whoop whoop. I'm actually pretty stoked about that. So many people were sending me screenshots and tick tocks of her saying my name and it was really cool. So if Oscar or Trish or maybe Moses is listening and if you're a secret coconut hello, Join the club. As always, these episodes are all just opinion based and alleged. Always do your own research and come to your own conclusions. You don't have to always agree with me because sometimes I get things wrong and that is okay. And sometimes there are no right or wrong answers as long as everyone is respectful in the comments. As you guys know, Substack told me about a lady who makes $5 million annually by by charging people to comment on her posts and turning off the comments elsewhere. So like the last episode, I'll be turning off the comments on YouTube and you can only comment if you are subscribed to my best selling substack@kokomoco. Substack.com subscribers will also be able to watch the extended episode. So if you can hear me as a Gemini Moon ramble for even longer than this episode is, you're in luck. Along with that, I've kept this podcast completely ad free for two years because I hate when podcasts that I listen to stop every 10 minutes for a better help or HelloFresh ad read. The 30 minute episode is actually a 12 minute episode in its entirety if you don't count the ads. And because my substack became a bestseller and I'm able to continue this ad free podcast while providing extra value to my paying coconuts with the extended episodes. I'm so grateful. So thank you. In the free portion, I'm going to talk about how the Kardashian maneuvers the celebrity totem pole, but how they haven't been able to crack one last realm, which is politics. I will talk about how Trump was able to change his legacy for worse or for worse by cracking the political realm, and why he has one element that his supporters love because because it's opposite to what most politicians are trained to avoid. I will talk about Kim Kardashian's links to Elon Musk and why I think that she's been aligning with him more and more and why it coincides with politics. And then in the paid portion on cocomoco.substack.com where you can comment, I will discuss what other ways I think Kim Kardashian will try to break into the political realm. And I'll talk about how there's one specific element that not all celebrities have that I think determines whether they can have a big enough following to vote them into office. And then I will also give a brief update on my thoughts around the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni situation because I'm still standing 10 toes down. The more research that I do, the more I believe that she's been victimized not only on set, but also in the public eye. Baldoni supporters have been citing Megyn Kelly and Candace Owens as their biggest source and allies, and that's when you know that you might be on the wrong side of history and it's not too late to jump the sinking ship, even if it's unpopular to stand with a victim in this current moment. That is what I am doing because I'm not swayed by public opinion. As always, you don't have to agree with me, especially in the Blake Lively situation because I believe his team is brilliant at gendered misinformation and astroturfing. And if you want to know more about that, I will link out Swiftologists great YouTube video on the topic below. But before you give your opinion on the Blake Lively situation, just know that there are women and maybe men that are in a similar position as her and they are silently watching what everyone is saying about her right now and potentially being discouraged from ever advocating for themselves or others in a dangerous situation. So even if you admit that you are wrong in the future or you delete your video, the damage is irreversible and I don't think you'd want to contribute to that. But I could be wrong. Thank you for being a coconut and to keep this podcast growing. Thank you so much for reviewing me on Spotify and Apple and for sharing it with a friend who loves overanalyzing pop culture and marketing as much as the coconuts do. Now diving in. Why I think Kim Kardashian wants to be the future President of the United States and the steps that she is taking to get there. This was partly inspired by an episode that I did almost two years ago that is still one of my favorites. It is with a creator and video essayist, Allegria. She's from the UK and we talk about the differences in British celebrity culture and American celebrity culture. She talked about how in the UK you are born into your social class and it doesn't really move despite what you might accomplish or who you might even marry. But in America, your social status is sometimes dependent on how drastic your rags to riches story is, and it is almost seen as a negative to be born into money in America. And it's why so many people that are maybe nepo babies will try to distance themselves from that because they're afraid that it will take away from their credits and what they've accomplished. We also talk about why she theorizes in that episode that I did that the succession family represent different personality prototypes in the Kardashian clan. So if you're interested in that, after you finish this episode, you can go jump over in the show notes and listen to that episode. It's really fascinating and I think that if you clicked on this, you'll definitely want to listen to that. But something that always stuck with me from that conversation was how the British and other countries that have been around for a long time often will have royal families. Even if the people are critical of the royal family, such as in the uk, what they have is still some respect for the history of it, whereas celebrity families in America, they don't have that same history because we've only been around since the late 1700s. Time is the one resource that American celebrities cannot buy. The Kardashians have been able to climb the ladder of celebrity, but they failed to get a certain level of respect from the general public because they don't have that legacy or history. The closest thing that America might have to royal families, if you're measuring by history and respect, would be someone like the Vanderbilts or the Rockefellers or the Kennedys. But besides maybe a few of the Kennedys, the majority of these American kind of pseudo royalty, they can still walk into a grocery store and go completely unnoticed in a way that Kate Middleton, Prince William or Meghan Markle cannot do. No matter how famous the Kardashians get, it might be impossible for them to break into royal status unless they break into one last faucet of celebrity life that they haven't broken into. I do have to stop before I carry on and just say that I do think part of this struggle is potentially wrapped in a little bit of misogyny. If seven brothers became famous reality stars and business owners, then they would be seen as brilliant businessmen and a family. So I do want to side note that because I will be critical about specifically Kim Kardashian in this episode, that I do feel I should acknowledge some blind spots society and myself might have when it comes to acknowledging someone's power and success based on their gender and sometimes their ethnicity. We all know how Kim Kardashian was able to enter into the celebrity world through through reality TV and celebrity friends. So I won't bore you with something that a million other people have talked about in video essays and podcasts. But what I do think is interesting is the Kardashians ability to transcend celebrity status through their romantic partners as well. I spoke about this in my mini video essay that's on TikTok. But Kim Kardashian was first able to transcend outside of reality star status by dating NFL player Reggie Bush. Sports players are some of the most followed people around the world, such as Cristiano Ronaldo being the number one followed person on Instagram. Because sports transcend languages, people can be fans of them even if they don't speak the same language as them. You can learn about this person, their character, and how you relate to them simply by watching them play their sport. Famously, the leader of North Korea is obsessed with American basketball even though he doesn't speak the same language and would never be able to step foot in America to watch a game in person. He became obsessed with the sport because it transcended languages, cultures and politics. When Kim Kardashian began famously dating Reggie Bush, her star status transcended cable reality television show. We saw her other sisters follow a similar path to transcension. I obviously have to add that the men are also benefiting from dating them when it came to elevating their status, especially a football player. It's harder for them to get brand deals because the audience can't see their face. They're wearing helmets. And so a lot of football players, if they want to become on the status of a Tom Brady or Odell Beckham, etc. Travis Kelce, they have to do PR stunts that involve not wearing a helmet, seeing having their face be seen in magazines, interviews, etc. So I do want to say that these men still have something to gain from dating a Kardashian. And while I do think that a lot of these relationships are usually organic in the beginning, I do think that it's probably a convenient decision that they are able to date someone that elevates their status. Khloe Kardashian famously married Lamar Odom. Kendall Jenner has dated famous NBA players like Devin Booker and Kourtney Kardashian dated boxer turned model Yuna Benjamin. The athletes have a baked in international audience that a cable reality television show show star might not have yet. And this applies to earlier seasons of the Kardashians as it's now become a household name across the world after athletes Kim Kardashian broke into a list status by dating rising rap star Kanye West. She often spoke about how she was shunned from appearing on the COVID of magazines before dating him. A publicist once told her to be realistic when she stated that one of her goals was to appear on A cover one day. Kanye west is one of the highest awarded Grammy winners of all time with 21 Grammys and is currently tied with Jay Z as the most awarded hip hop artist in Grammy history. Kim Kardashian appeared on the COVID of the highly coveted US Vogue issue for the first time alongside Kanye west and their daughter north to commemorate their wedding. This relationship with Kanye west opened the door to her A list status by getting to work alongside designers like Karl Lagerfeld, getting to become a mainstay at one of the most exclusive and secretive fashion events in the world, the Met Gala, and getting to sit front row at awards shows for the first time. Despite this push for from Kanye west, she was still seemingly exiled and potentially still is from some A list artists such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Rihanna. After Kanye west, it seems she's become a little bit more secretive about who she could potentially be dating. And then Kylie Jenner most like her sister. Kim has been able to transcend the ladder of celebrity culture by dating music artists and now a famous movie actor. Now, one realm of celebrity culture that the Kardashians have not been able to crack but I think Kim Kardashian has been trying is politics. Politics is the closest thing that the Americans have to legacy and history. Once you are a president, you are forever comm. I have such bad dyslexia. I'm sorry, you guys. Once you are a president, you are forever cemented as an A lister. Not that all politicians or presidents want that or aspire to have celebrity status. Some genuinely, I think, just do go into it for the love of helping others, like Jimmy Carter. And speaking of Jimmy Carter, he only served one term as president, but his A list status was forever cemented when he passed away recently. All former and current US President Joe Biden attended his funeral. Funeral. Most other faucets of celebrity culture are fleeting. Some commentators respectfully disagreed with me in my TikTok video where I said that I think it's actually harder to maintain A list status as a music artist versus a movie star. The reason I say this is because people put out new music every single week. Thousands of hopefuls and established artists release music every Friday morning. But with movies only a few movies coming out in theaters every week, it's a lot harder to get into the smaller bucket of hopefuls. But if you can reach a status like Zendaya or Timothee Chalamet as an actor in movies, then you have a lot less hopefuls to compete with in sheer volume compared to an A list artist that has to compete with new hungry artists every single week. That is a point that is up for discussion and my opinion can always change. So please comment on the substack if you have a differing opinion from me. Even with Kanye west, it seems that Kim Kardashian's star began to fall also as her partner star began to fall. While Kanye will always be a talented artist and that's a trait that no one can take from him, he was still almost fully exiled by a lot of American society when he began tweeting anti Semitic remarks and endorsing Trump as president. During his first term, he has grown more and more erratic, with pictures just last year surfacing of his bare butt cheeks fully out on a boat taxi in Italy. And it seems that the Kardashian star all of the family has been falling in recent years. They aren't really the talk of the town the way they once were. We can see them go weeks without a headline. I'm sure they can maneuver back into the spotlight if they really wanted, but it's an interesting sign of the times. If you are someone who made your name by flaunting your wealth and you have no other artistry or skills to back it like acting, singing or athleticism, it's only a matter of time before that audience turns on you. As the general public grows more and more resentful of the ultra wealthy in trying times, I think it's no coincidence that Kim Kardashian began her campaign for prison reform and trying to become a lawyer in 2018, just two years after the first reality star was elected President of the United States States. Trump went from a cable television host to securing a spot in the history books forever. And I want to make it clear that obviously I do not support him or his policies. So as I talk about him in this segment and his relation to Kim Kardashian and her pursuit pursuits, I hope that it's clear, but it won't hurt to obviously say and another disclaimer is that I'm not a political or legal analyst and do not claim to be. I'm just fascinated at looking at people's attention from an objective lens. For better or for worse, that is what I will be doing in this next segment. As I put my own politics and beliefs aside and as I say that I think Kim Kardashian might try to become the first President of the United States. I want to say that just because I'm predicting something doesn't mean I want it to happen. It just means that I could see it happening. One of the reasons that I believe Trump was able to defy odds and become president twice despite being a convicted felon the second time around is because he has one trait that a lot of seasoned politicians do not have, which is that he is able to put on the illusion of honesty. He obviously does flip flop and can sometimes change his decisions based on what seems to be most self serving. But one thing he doesn't do is ever apologize. And he kind of refuses to to answer questions, at least in an honest way, but he's able to make it appear as if he's a straight shooter. It's kind of this illusion and this is something that audiences want more than anything. One of the worst things that you can do as a creator or a celebrity on a small or big scale is flip flop or lie about who you are, even if it was unintentional. Obviously, if you make a mistake, you can apologize if it's honest and be okay. But we've learned time and time again from celebrities and influencers that audiences will turn on you quickly if they think that you have deceived them about who you are. They would rather support someone who is awful but somewhat honest and upfront about that versus someone who that they think lied about being awful, even to the smallest degree. Look at Ellen DeGeneres or Will Smith. While there are clear racial and misogynistic undertones to their kind of exile from celebrity culture, at least for now, and they did make very big mistakes. Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on Stage and Ellen DeGeneres was reported to be awful to her employees for years. But the reason neither of them have come back to a list status all these years later is because they were branded as the nice good guys before this all happened and their star fell almost immediately overnight because audience felt that they had lied about who they were. Whereas if it comes out that, for example, Trump was awful to an employee, his his demographic isn't really going to care. His star isn't going to fall because he never said that he was great to employees. Audiences would rather support someone who burned down an orphanage and admitted to it or tried to justify it versus someone who maybe ran a red light once but branded themselves for years as the best and most safest driver in the world. Audiences hate when they think that you've insulted their intelligence. And another factor that most people need to become a huge celebrity is to be polarizing. Examples of this are Trump, Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, and Kim Kardashian. Let me know if you guys would want me to dive into an episode on polarizing. You don't meet someone who is indifferent about any of these people. Even Taylor Swift, who I think usually walks a pretty fine and safe line when it comes to branding. When people bring up either of these people, they either love them or hate them, and there's no in between. It seems Elon Musk has been trying to break into the political sphere in America as well. I've noticed that Kim Kardashian has aligned herself closely with Tesla, which means she's aligning herself with Elon Musk just by proximity. She posted about their robot to her socials, and her former assistant recently went viral with a video of her walking around a seemingly empty mall. Cough, cough staged with Tesla robots hold holding her shopping bags. Could Kim Kardashian be an investor in Tesla? Could she be trying to cozy up to Musk? Or both? Elon Musk has grown close to Trump during his recent presidential election run despite being critical of him during his first term. Between 2016 and 2020, he appeared on stage with Trump during his rallies and was a speaker at his inauguration. He did something on stage that I don't think I can say here, because I don't want to get a violation, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Kim Kardashian did not post about who she would be voting for in this presidential campaign and was eerily silent despite being vocal about elections in the past, including local elections like LA Mayor. While no one is entitled to know who someone else is voting for, some online did take her posting about Elon Musk's new Tesla robots right before the presidential election as potentially a secret endorsement for Trump, but obviously that's not confirmed. With Elon Musk growing closer to Donald Trump, could Kim Kardashian be positioning herself to be in alignment with him, either romantically or through business? Elon Musk skims Ad coming soon, question mark Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian sadly make sense to me as a future couple. In the same way that, like, whenever I say this, I feel like it's I just can always see Elon Musk and Doja Cat dating. I don't know. Let me know what you guys think in the comments on Substack. And if Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk were to date, it sadly would not be the first time that she was romantically involved with someone who is accused of anti Semitic behavior. In a weird way, Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian make sense to me. She is also friends with Ivanka Trump and has been spotted with her frequently. She also posted a picture of Melania Trump to her Instagram story on the day of Trump's inauguration, and some people online took it as a silent endorsement of Trump. Instagram stories is one way for celebrities and creators to post without there being any type of comment section. So I wonder if this is her testing the waters for a tilt towards being Republican If Elon Musk continues his own seemingly political campaign, could we see Kim Kardashian continue to align herself with the tech mogul and new Trump ally as a way to get even closer to this White House inner circle? Or do you think that Elon Musk would be seen as too much of an outlier after what happened at the inauguration, for example? Or do you think it's something that Kim Kardashian doesn't care about? Only time will tell. I also said in my TikTok that I don't know the legal loopholes here and what would have to exist, but I could see Elon Musk trying to run for president one day despite not being born in America, a requirement for anyone to become president. Famously, Mitt Romney's dad tried to run for president before him once, but he was unable to make it very far because he was actually born in a Mormon community in Mexico. The Mexico and Mormon connection is actually a fascinating rabbit hole that I fell down one night a few years ago. So so I'll try and link out the Vice news video I watched about that if you're interested. Anywho, if Musk is able to change the laws through his new friend Donald Trump so that he could run for president, could Kim Kardashian be cozying up to him as a way to become the first lady one day? Or could Kim Kardashian herself be seeking to be the first female President of the United States? And is she popular enough to actually win despite seasoned female politicians such as Harris and Clinton falling short two times back to back? I am going to talk about my personal thoughts on a potential Kim Kardashian run for president on the extended episode of Ahead of the curve at kokomoco.substack.com on my bestselling substack, you can unlock the extended episode and leave your comment and thoughts if you go over to that profile. So we'll continue the conversation over there. If you have something to say that maybe I overlooked or an angle that I didn't bring up. There are no right or wrong answers here. Just keep it respectful as you guys always do. So thank you to the free coconuts. Thank you for making it this far far. If you have two minutes to spare and you enjoyed the effort I put into this episode, if you could leave a review on Apple and Spotify with feedback, that would help my podcast tremendously. I really try to bring unique episodes where I don't just repeat things or topics that everyone else has already said, like a lot of other pop culture podcasts. And it's really vulnerable to put your honest opinion out there, especially on how vicious the Internet can be. So thank you guys for giving me such a safe space to do so every single Monday. And as for the paying coconut, I will see you on the other side at Cocomoco Substac.