Donald Trump’s inauguration is still a week away, but opposing the president-elect is good politics for any ambitious Democrat with eyes on a White House bid, NBC News reported. That could be why some of the most outspoken opposition to Trump’s cabinet appointees during this week’s confirmation hearings has come from Democrats widely seen as potential presidential contenders four years from now. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was the most brazen in using the confirmation hearings to raise his personal profile, breaking precedent to become the first senator in history testify against a fellow member of the chamber. He was swarmed by reporters as he left the hearing room where he spoke out against Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s pick for Attorney General. But other up-and-coming senators often mentioned in Democrats’ 2020 fantasy draft picks leveraged the spotlight on their committees’ hearings to press their issues and demonstrate their rhetorical chops.
What a difference a year makes.
Just a year after the #OscarSoWhite controversy that enveloped the Academy Awards, 2017 saw a slate of not only diverse actors being nominated, but diverse stories as well.
Among the actors and actresses receiving nominations Tuesday were Denzel Washington for "Fences," Dev Patel for "Lion," Mahershala Ali for "Moonlight," Viola Davis for "Fences," Octavia Spencer for "Hidden Figures," Naomi Harris for "Moonlight," and Ruth Negga for "Loving." Three of the women in the best supporting actress category are women of color.
Yet perhaps even more telling is the "Adapted Screenplay" category. Four of the five nominees, “Fences,” “Hidden Figures, ” “Lion, ” and “Moonlight” primarily feature diverse casts.
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The nominations were seen as a test for the revamped film academy. Following two consecutive years without diverse nominees in any of the major acting categories the Oscars, academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs ushered in new membership rules and added 683 new members as a way to diversify a predominantly white, male and elderly group. The academy now numbers 6,687 people.
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