Supporters of Donald Trump vote when he tells them to vote. And he’s been busy telling them to back his former short-lived press secretary Sean Spicer, despite the fact he can’t dance.
ABC Producers blocked half the country from being able to vote at the beginning of the season, and that has really helped Spicer and his southern base.
He is now favored to sail into the finale, thanks to the MAGA Trump base that he has been tapping into.
California and western states do not see DWTS live, thus cannot vote real time during the show.
Spicer has been busy giving interviews to right-wing talk shows and websites, asking Trump supporters to vote for him regardless of his dancing.
And they have.
Fans on Twitter have expressed their outrage, some threatening to abandon the show altogether.
“This isn’t funny. This isn’t cute. Whoever is voting for Sean Spicer, you are garbage,” wrote fan Kaitlin Sigmon.
Other responses were similar:
Erin Andrews' face says it all…#DWTS #DancingWithTheStars pic.twitter.com/RGaVEOsf4Y
— Hollywood Exposed (@AndstuffL) November 5, 2019
And with that, I will no longer be watching @DancingABC
We had a good run, but the show is now trash #DWTS— Francesca (@BarstoolFran) November 5, 2019
*BUT WE SUCK!?!?* – Jenna #DWTS pic.twitter.com/upfFLqXdo3
— Chicks in the Office (@ChicksInTheOff) November 5, 2019
Can everyone voting for Sean Spicer on #DWTS please fuck right off?
— Stuart Armstrong (@armstrong_sj) November 5, 2019
Welcome to dancing with the stars…#DWTS pic.twitter.com/VljXBV20Z2
— Banana Fana Fo F’Adam (@mradamppowell) November 5, 2019
the judges getting more annoyed every week that the person they want to eliminate is not in the bottom #dwts pic.twitter.com/2ofbcYaQIv
— kar (@haykambright) November 5, 2019
Don’t worry @JennaJohnson we were all just as shocked… #DWTS pic.twitter.com/2sV3t4XPVK
— morgan (@morganleighh__) November 5, 2019
#DWTS I guess republicans like their dancers like they like their politicians, unqualified and untalented! pic.twitter.com/P3OySLpv0K
— Deborah Boyd (@teachermom19681) November 5, 2019
Sean Spicer is the .1 germ Lysol just can’t kill #dwts @dancingabc
— jules (@juliacaitlinn) November 5, 2019
#DWTS Those results are BULLSHIT. Cancel the public voting and make it about dancing, not popularity.
— BionicDancerJo (@BionicDancerJo) November 5, 2019
The voting process has to change with the judges at least voting only until semi finals. THEN the public can weigh in. It’s just not fair for a dancing contest. I would be embarrassed if I was @seanspicer #DWTS
— maria manning (@maria_limey) November 5, 2019
The look of someone who is praying to lose #DWTS pic.twitter.com/gnSSkTxpN5
— Chicks in the Office (@ChicksInTheOff) November 5, 2019
STOP VOTING FOR SEAN SPICER WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!?!? #dwts
— Laurie Anne (@xlaurieannex) November 5, 2019
The Universe has many mysteries, but the greatest mystery of all time is why the FUCK Sean Spicer is still on #DWTS
— JessiAnn💖 Kemp🦋 (@JessiAnnKemp) November 5, 2019
Len straight up calling out the bullshit that is Sean Spicer still on this show gives me fucking life #DWTS
— Alexandra Rae (@justatravelerr) November 5, 2019
Spicer gave yet another interview to a far-right website last week encouraging conservatives and Trump supporters to vote for him, regardless of his dancing.
Spicer, who lied his way through press conferences with deliberate false statements, has managed to cultivate enough Republican/conservative/Trump votes this season to survive eight weeks, despite being a clod on the dance floor.
It’s embarrassing for the show, and is unfortunately coming at a cost.
Ratings are down from last year (when they were down from the season before) and viewership has dropped this season from 8 million to 6.2 million.
This could be it DWTS fans.
The trouble started this summer when producers decided to cast Spicer, who has been widely ridiculed for his short stint as Trump’s mouthpiece.
Host Tom Bergeron took to social media to complain about the decision.
Bergeron wrote how he hoped the new season “would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.”
He described how he met with “DWTS” new executive producer (Andrew Llinares) to make his feelings known and he left their lunch “convinced we were in agreement.”
“Subsequently (and rather obviously),” Bergeron wrote, “a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction.’”
Some thoughts about today pic.twitter.com/aCQ4SHrGCI
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) August 21, 2019
“We can all agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call,” he continued. “I’ll leave it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions.”
Bergeron’s gut that Spicer’s involvement was going to get worse turned out to be correct.
In response to the casting, Trump picked up the mantle for Spicer, tweeting that his supporters should vote for him, without even watching him dance.
Vote for good guy @seanspicer tonight on Dancing With The Stars. He has always been there for us!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019
Spicer tweeted his thanks with instructions on how viewers can cast votes.
Thank you @POTUS @realDonaldTrump Appreciate all the votes on @DancingABC tonight. Only votes between 8-10pm ET count. Everyone has 20 votes. Text SEAN 10 times to 21523 and vote 10 more at https://t.co/in3iBKszaD #teamsweetnspicey #DWTS #dwts28 https://t.co/DbbuRFTkJd
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) October 14, 2019
Donald Trump, Jr. also joined his father in pushing Spicer.
“Every MAGA supporter in the country needs to get out the vote for Spicer because nothing would drive liberal Hollywood or the left-wing media more crazy than Sean salsa dancing his way to a victory on Dancing with the Stars,” Trump Jr. said in an interview.
Right-wing former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is now a host on a religious channel, told his followers to get involved:
Wanna create an emotional meltdown in Hollyweird? Vote for @seanspicer to win “Dancing with the Stars” tonight and every night he’s on. @seanspicer is a good guy and a brave sport to go on DWTS. Let’s show him some love! https://t.co/UNI7xXVtwh pic.twitter.com/hlb2LeUFar
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 16, 2019
Spicer has received backing not just from Trump and Republicans, but alt-right publications like Breitbart News.
Spicer told the controversial website yesterday that he hopes his presence on Dancing with the Stars is continuing to send a powerful message to members of the “intolerant left” – that conservatives are “equal participants” and “cannot be canceled out.”
“I really appreciate the support of Breitbart Nation, the listeners here on the Patriot Channel and obviously the readers,” Spicer told the website that flirts with white nationalist views.
Earlier this month, former DWTS champ Adam Rippon ripped the shows producers for casting the controversial former Trump mouthpiece.
[READ: Former DWTS Champ Adam Rippon Rips Show For Including Spicer]
The voting system DTWS is using this season has directly benefited Spicer and Republicans, as votes only from the south and eastern states are taken live.
Californians, who live in the largest state in the country and are much more likely to oppose Trump and Spicer, are left out of the voting.
It is a truly rigged show, without Spicer needing any help from the Russians.
Spicer told USA Today there’s no question a “huge” amount of his votes come from Trump supporters.
Trump has more than 65 million Twitter followers, which DWTS producers banked they could tap into.
Spicer has made his appearance all about politics, launching the “Spicer Arnold 2019” website, dedicated to himself.
“This fall, let’s finally vote for someone who represents people like us,” an announcer intones in an election-style ad, “Paid for by the Spicey Committee.”
While social media has been in an uproar for weeks about Spicer’s longevity on the dance show, it’s clear he has a shot to make it to the end.
And that could mark the very end of the series on ABC.