Shlomo Ben-Ami

TEL AVIV – During the just-concluded U.S. election campaign, I did not follow opinion polls, pore over “evidence-based” predictions, or read “expert” analyses of the race. As soon as I saw some of the most famous faces in American pop culture – from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Springsteen – campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris, I knew she was going to lose.

This might seem counter-intuitive: these celebrities have millions of fans, so it stands to reason that they can influence millions of voters. But in an election framed by one side as a battle pitting “the people” against “the elites,” associating oneself with ultra-wealthy celebrities – people who live in gated mansions, fly in private jets, and walk down public streets flanked by security guards – is a losing strategy. The last thing the people want, as they struggle with high prices and fear for their futures, is for elites to tell them how to vote.

This sentiment is not unique to the United States. Israel’s liberal left has always enjoyed the overwhelming support of musicians, artists, and filmmakers; its representatives always receive the endorsement of the liberal Haaretz newspaper. And it has not had an electoral victory in a generation. As a friend once quipped: If you want to win an election, make sure that Haaretz is against you. Couldn’t Donald Trump say the same about The New York Times?

Many of the 73 million Americans who voted for Trump in this election were motivated by legitimate grievances over issues like economic insecurity and immigration. One can criticize their apparent willingness to accept Trump’s misogynistic and otherwise offensive rhetoric, his habit of abandoning allies and trampling on democratic........

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