In a move that just might be too ridiculous to fail, New York-based comedian Hari Kondabolu has attempted to encourage anti-Trump sentiment among One Directioners. He did so with a simple tweet:
This tactic is worthy of applause, but is dubious for several reasons.
First, Zayn Malik is no longer a member of One Direction, and the fans who are most capable of being whipped up into a frenzy are those who have cast Malik as a traitor unworthy of the attention given to One Direction. Should Kondabolu’s tweet gain any sort of momentum, it might have the unintended effect of turning fans toward Trump, his anti-Muslim rhetoric just a graduated, old-man version of their anti-Zayn talk.
Second, should the fans be mobilized in support of Malik, to what effect? If their tweets verge on the psychotic and homicidal, Trump will probably just ignore them or spin the vitriol into support for his hate of the Internet.
Third, a good portion of One Direction fans are not old enough to vote. But maybe if they complain about Trump enough, they’ll pass their annoyance on to their parents, who will do anything to stop Trump if it means getting their kids to be quiet.
It’s a crazy plan, and it’s doomed to fail. But we can dream.