History OneOfUs / PoliticalGeeks

* Soviet leader UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev was a huge fan of American Westerns. In particular, he loved ''Series/TheRifleman'' and met its star Chuck Connors on several occasions. During Brezhnev's 1973 visit to the US, Connors even presented the Premier with two Colt .45s he'd used on his show ''Series/{{Branded}}''. There are a few surviving photos of Brezhnev hunting with said Colts in a quasi-cowboy attire. He also loved ''Film/DirtyHarry'', repeatedly screening the movie for the Politburo and KGB leaders.

* Soviet leader UsefulNotes/JosefStalin was a fan of Creator/JamesCagney, Creator/CharlieChaplin, Literature/{{Tarzan}} movies and Creator/LaurelAndHardy. Despite seeing westerns as American propaganda he also enjoyed watching them. Yet, when he heard Creator/JohnWayne was a staunch anti-communist he planned to have him murdered. UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev personally made sure that Stalin's daft order wasn't carried out. Khrushchev also told Creator/JohnWayne this when the politician visited the U.S.A. in 1959. Stalin's favorite movie of all time was the 1938 comedy "Volga-Volga". Khrushchev wrote in his memoires that Stalin mockingly compared him to one of the characters in this picture.

* Soviet leader UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev was a huge fan of American Westerns. In particular, he loved ''Series/TheRifleman'' and met its star Chuck Connors on several occasions. During Brezhnev's 1973 visit to the US, Connors even presented the Premier with two Colt .45s he'd used on his show ''Series/{{Branded}}''. There are a few surviving photos of Brezhnev hunting with said Colts in a quasi-cowboy attire. He also loved ''Film/DirtyHarry'', repeatedly screening the movie for the Politboro and KGB leaders.

* King Abdullah II of Jordan is an acknowledged fan of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', and guest-starred on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' when he was still a prince. Later, when Creator/MichaelBay was going to film ''[[Film/{{Transformers}} Revenge of the Fallen]]'' in Jordan, he ordered 38 military helicopters to transport the equipment to Petra, allowing the film crew those overhead shots of the same ruins that appeared in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''. Turns out His Majesty is a big fan of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' and loves the franchise.
** King Abdullah has recently announced the creation of a [[http://www.royaltyinthenews.com/2011/08/06/king-abdullah-ii-invests-in-star-trek-theme-park/ Star Trek theme park]] to be built in his country, which he will be funding.

* Vice President Kamala Harris admitted during an [[https://youtu.be/kKpf_mNAK4s?t=109 interview]] that she was a huge [[Franchise/StarWars Star Wars]] fan and was starstruck meeting Mark Hamill.
** During a [[https://youtu.be/0NF0qv6lDM4?t=1633 fundraiser with the Avengers cast]], the Russo Brothers talked about the time then-Senator Harris tried to come on the set of [[Film/AvengersEndgame Avengers Endgame]] to meet the cast, but never could find the time.
* Congressman Josh Harder of California is a fan of Franchise/StarWars, sci-fi novels and was the President of his high school chess club. He's also ranked platnium in League of Legends.
* US politician Misty Snow, and one of the first two transgender candidates for Democratic nominee, is a fan of ''Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog''. She is familiar with the drama involving Creator/KenPenders and the characters he took with a lawsuit towards ''Creator/ArchieComics''.

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* U.S. conservative pundit Glenn Beck has preserved many TV & movie props at his Mercury Studios facility in Las Colinas, Texas (Mercury Studios was once known as The Studios at Las Colinas, and was home to everything from ''Film/{{Robocop}}'' to ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' to ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'').

* US President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan was a huge movie fan, which shouldn't surprise anyone, given the fact that he was a former Hollywood actor. He frequently referenced movies in his speeches (''Film/DirtyHarry, Film/BackToTheFuture, Franchise/{{Rambo}}'',...) and even based his Star Wars defense program on the movie series ''Franchise/StarWars''. One morning, at an economic summit in Williamsburg, Va., White House Chief of Staff James Baker learned that Reagan hadn't studied his briefing books the night before. He asked the president why. "Well, Jim, The Sound of Music was on TV," Reagan replied. Reagan also loved Creator/TomClancy and mentioned the book Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober in one of his speeches. Reagan also enjoyed Series/FamilyTies so much that he volunteered to have a cameo on the show, but the producers ignored this plea.

** When he saw ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', [[ActuallyPrettyFunny he was so amused]] by the scene where [[ItWillNeverCatchOn the 1955 Doc Brown scoffs at the idea of Reagan being president by 1985]] that he told the projectionist to replay the scene. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen He got approached to play the mayor of 1885 Hill Valley]] in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII Part III]]'', and ''was'' interested before his aides declined for him.

** Shinzo Abe invokes the trope in the promotional video for [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames the Tokyo 2020 Olympics]] at the Rio 2016 Closing Ceremonies, which includes a stick where he's stuck in traffic at the Shibuya scramble crossing and realizes he won't be able to get to Rio in time... but solves it by [[spoiler:turning himself into [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] (complete with [[JustForFun/OneOfUs accurate sound effects]]), building a Warp Pipe in the middle of the crossing and using a [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 Spin Drill]] to ''burrow through the earth's core'' so he can get to Maracanã Stadium]]... and making his entrance [[spoiler:through the Warp Pipe exit installed in the middle of the stadium, [[TheComicallySerious still wearing Mario's hat]].]] It's both awesome and hilarious.

* Canada's newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a Franchise/StarWars fan and [[http://www.dianatamblyn.com/2012/10/justin-trudeau-comic-geek-future.html even went to the Montreal Comic-Con once with his kids]].

* Newly elected President of Chile Gabriel Boric admitted he used to play TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering with Black/Red land destruction being his favorite deck. He also collected non-basic lands and goblin cards.

* US Democrat and senator of Vermont Patrick Leahy is a huge ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' fan. In fact, at his own request, he lent his voice to an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', and had cameos in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight, and Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w96uPYrkAE#t=0m36s (here he is in TDK)]], and ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. He gets props for donating the money he earned from those gigs to the Montpellier public library.

* Pope John Paul II was a soccer player during his youth. His enthusiasm for the sport never waned. In 2004 he met members of the Polish National Football Team and told goal keeper Jerzy Dudek that he was fan of them. He is also the only pope to ever been made a Honorary Harlem Globetrotter, which happened when the sports team visited the Vatican in 2000. John Paul II is also the first pope to officially release a music album. In 1999 a CD was made, "Abbà Pater" (1999), which samples quotes from his speeches over liturgic music. The man was also a huge fan of the German TV detective series ''Series/{{Derrick}}''.

* Reverend and Afro-American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. was a fan of ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'', and [[http://scifiwire.com/2010/01/the-true-story-of-how-dr.php even convinced Nichelle "Uhura" Nichols not to quit the show.]], since she was cast in a role that had her as an equal among her crew in a job that wasn't a stereotype.

** Surprisingly, in spite of his criticisms of violent video games and Activision-Blizzard's shady business practices, he himself is actually a gamer. And has admitted to sometimes spending a fair amount of money on loot boxes and microtransactions in different games.

** Surprisingly, in spite of his criticisms of violent video games and Activision-Blizzard's shady business practices, he himself is actually a gamer.

** He's also hinted at being a fan of the video game ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. In 2016, a copy of the game was given to him as a gift by Catholic gaming youtuber [=PatMat=], though as to whether he actually played the game is rather questionable to say the least, and the copy of ''Undertale'' was more of a symbolic gesture of goodwill than anything. And, in early 2022, he used music from the game in a presentation.

* Pope Benedict XVI is a known classical music fan, with his favourite composer being Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart. The irony is not lost with Pope Benedict's affinity for Mozart considering the latter's membership into the Freemasonry.[[note]]Though Mozart saw no conflict between the Masonic order and his religious beliefs.[[/note]] Pope Benedict himself is also an accomplished pianist, having recorded an album of contemporary classical music in which he sings and recites prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

** He's also hinted at being a fan of the video game ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. In 2016, a copy of the game was given to him as a gift by Catholic gaming youtuber [=PatMat=]. And, in early 2022, he used music from the game in a presentation.

* Education advocate and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai enjoyed the first episode of ''Series/MsMarvel'' enough to [[https://www.zoomtventertainment.com/hollywood/malala-yousafzai-thanks-ms-marvel-for-a-young-superhero-whose-powers-connect-to-her-heritage-in-a-heartfelt-letter-article-92074578 send a handwritten letter to Disney Plus praising the show,]] especially in its portrayal of a Pakistani Muslim heroine whose life reflects that heritage.

* Former flamboyant mayor of London and current flamboyant British PM Boris Johnson was a guest in a 2006 episode of ''Radio/DesertIslandDiscs'' where he choose music by Music/TheBeatles, Music/BookerTAndTheMGs, Music/JohannSebastianBach, Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, Creator/JohannesBrahms, Music/VanMorrison, Music/TheClash and Music/LudwigVanBeethoven as his favorites to take with him to a deserted island.

* British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock appeared in a music video by comedienne Tracey Ullman: "My Guy's Mad At Me". During a 1998 broadcast of ''Radio/DesertIslandDiscs'' he named Music/GiuseppeVerdi, Georges Bizet, Creator/JohannesBrahms, Music/SimonAndGarfunkel, Music/JohnLennon and Dory Previn among his favorite music.

* Newly elected President of Chile Gabriel Boric admitted he used to play MagicTheGathering with Black/Red land destruction being his favorite deck. He also collected non-basic lands and goblin cards.

** Newt is also known to be a huge Franchise/StarWars and sci-fi buff. So much so that when the History Channel did a documentary about the literary and mythical themes of Star Wars, Newt was one of the big name fans who appeared throughout the documentary giving commentary about his favorite aspects of the saga. He also made the comment that ''"Star Wars proves that there is real evil in the world and that it can be defeated"'', which you can either consider to be funny, ironic, hypocritical or a tad disturbing.
* In 2012, the German Pirate Party experienced a huge wave of popularity and won seats in several state parliamants. Started as a protest movement against outdated copyright laws and inadequate handling of information technology by politics, it consists of a great number of young academics and engineers, making it the quintessential Nerd Party. Which is not helped at all by the fact that one of its most prominent members, Christopher Lauer, is a highly gifted physicist and historian of science and technology who is affected by [=ADD=]. But there's a good chance that he's invited to talk shows and interviews because of that fact.
** Their Berlin faction also has [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/12/berlin-parliaments-pirate-party-calls.html Ponytime]].

* [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II]] is reportedly a big fan of ''Series/DoctorWho''. She's also a WrenchWench (or at least she was during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII).

** She's also a techie; at an age (born in ''1926'') where many people have long since stopped keeping pace with new technology, she is an avid [=BlackBerry=] user. It was ''her'' idea to televise her coronation (television then having only one channel that went off the air by the evening and still not as popular as radio), which gained popularity by the coronation. In the 1970s she sent the first email in the UK. She also enjoys [[http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2008/01/queen-elizabeth/ playing ''Wii Bowling'']]. When Obama first met with her, he considered an iPod to be an appropriate gift for her -- and she already had one. It's not just that: the iPod was ''her'' idea, as she had mentioned that hers was a generation or two out of date. Let the speculation as to whether she and Obama exchanged private numbers begin!
** She has also owned an iPad [[http://nypost.com/2011/05/09/queen-elizabeth-ii-buys-ipad/ from 2011]] to present day.
** She is also a Music/TheBeatles fan from the first hour. In 1965 the band were also the first music artists to receive a MBE medal.
** She's also into helicopters as well: a video preceding her arrival in the Olympic Stadium in the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames featured a helicopter flying through Tower Bridge. She discovered the helicopter they planned to use would be incapable of doing the stunt and personally recommended the one they did use.
* Prince Charles is, if anything, an even bigger nerd than his mother. Since his youth he has been a major fan of ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' to the point of making [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfhC587Wiik fan film]] (and doing a very creditable Bluebottle impersonation). Apart from that he is also the highest ranking noble Creator/MontyPython fan. He also went to visit Creator/PeterJackson in New Zealand and got to see the first Film/TheHobbit movie before the rest of the world did. He's also a known RailEnthusiast, and has spent time on the footplate of various steam locomotives, as well as the Royal Train, driving his mum.

** ''My only international rival is ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}''.

** Hitler also read voraciously, both for his love of classical literature and to compensate for his lack of schooling, acquiring a personal library of about 16000 volumes. [[{{Irony}} Quite funnily]], knowing his racism , one of the novels [[http://andersentritte.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-few-words-about-adolf-hitlers-private.html he rated among the world's greatest]] was ''[[Literature/UncleTomsCabin Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''.

* Former flamboyant mayor of London and current flamboyant British PM Boris Johnson was a guest in a 2006 episode of ''Radio/DesertIslandDiscs'' where he choose music by Music/TheBeatles, Music/BookerTAndTheMGs, Music/JohannSebastianBach, Music/TheRollingStones, Creator/JohannesBrahms, Music/VanMorrison, Music/TheClash and Music/LudwigVanBeethoven as his favorites to take with him to a deserted island.

* Education advocate and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai enjoyed the first episode of ''Series/MsMarvel'' enough to send a handwritten letter praising the show, especially in its portrayal of a Pakistani Muslim heroine whose life reflects that heritage.

-->'''Barack Obama''': The scope of it was immense. So that was fun to read, partly because my day-to-day problems with Congress seem fairly petty — not something to worry about. Aliens are about to invade!
** He also follows Aperture Science on Twitter.

* Former U.S. Speaker of the House UsefulNotes/NewtGingrich, arch-conservative Republican politician, activist, pundit, and Presidential candidate, spends much of his free time [[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/232ydhpo.asp reading spy novels and reviewing them on Amazon]]. A somewhat tame example, but a lot more than you'd expect from a 67-year-old Southerner. And never let it be said that his reviews are half-assed; at one point, he was an Amazon Top 500 Reviewer.

* US Republican politician Rudolph Giuliani, who famously was major of New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, regularly appeared on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' playing a cab driver complaining about New York and uttering the line "Friggin' Giuliani". He seems to like TV shows, as he played himself in episodes of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', ''Series/MadAboutYou'', ''Dellaventura'', ''Eddie'', ''Cosby'', "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child", ''Series/LawAndOrder'' and ''Hannity''. Together with UsefulNotes/TonyBlair he is thus far the only politician to ever accept a guest spot on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', more specifically in the episode "Stop Or My Dog Will Shoot". He is also a big fan of {{Opera}} [[http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/rudolph-giuliani-opera-lover/]]. Giuliani also played himself in comedy movies like ''Film/AngerManagement'' (2003). He also once performed in drag as Creator/MarilynMonroe at the Inner Circle dinner on March 8, 1997. Alongside actress Creator/JulieAndrews. We are NOT making this up: [[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18108978/ns/politics-decision_08/t/rudy-giuliani-dress-will-voters-care/#.VXZdbEZ5WM8]]

* Pope Francis is a huge fan of Creator/JRRTolkien (himself a devout Catholic). He has even used ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' in his theology writings. Pope Francis is also a HUGE soccer fan, and his favorite Argentinian team is San Lorenzo de Almagro -- they attributed their 2014 win in the UsefulNotes/CopaLibertadores to him, and later met up with them in the Vatican itself. In 2015 he also became the first Pope to release a ProgressiveRock album, called "Wake Up!" It's actually an album made by rock artist Tony Pagliuca which combines audio clips from speeches by Francisus with Gregorian chants and pop rock, but the record was officially approved by the Vatican. He also apparently likes the video game ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.