GRACE Kelly would have tried to charm him, Elizabeth Taylor dazzled him with her diamonds or those violet eyes. Bacall? Whistled him to heel in a trice. Meryl Streep, the closest that modern Hollywood has to the screen royalty of old, went her own twinkly but devastating way at the Golden Globes when talking Trump.

Though she did not name the president-elect, the actor left no-one in any doubt as to whom she was referring when she attacked bullying and intolerance and praised the importance of a strong, free press. If that is the kind of dissent at the Golden Globes, one wonders what on earth is in store for the newly installed president when the Oscars come along on February 26. Should we expect a Springtime for Trump number, a Busby Berkeley arrangement of dancing Tweets, or Barack Obama’s buddy George Clooney mouthing off after necking one too many Nespressos?

Mr Trump was predictably unimpressed, taking to Twitter to call Ms Streep a “Hillary flunky” and “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood”. He could certainly teach Ms Streep a lesson about timing. It may have been a coincidence that he got into an argument with her on the same day that he announced his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was to be made a senior White House aide. If so, it was a happy one, ensuring the press were mostly looking one way while something far more important was taking place elsewhere. Not for the first time, Mr Trump was holding the torch while the media played the cat in a game of “catch the light, kitty”.

American artists have long made it clear that they are not huge fans of The Donald. Those such as Elton John, who did not show their support for Hillary Clinton with personal appearances during the campaign, have since made it their business to snub invitations to perform at his inauguration on January 20. At this rate, he’ll be left with some guy making balloon animals.

As The Herald’s Phil Miller reported yesterday, European artists are not to be outdone in their anti-Trump, anti-Brexit activism. More than 30 musicians from 15 countries will premiere a new work at Celtic Connections in Scotland on January 29 that aims to send out a “message of hope in shared humanity” in the wake of the Trump victory and Brexit vote.

Mr Trump and Brexit were also the talk of Edinburgh during the festival season (and will be even more so this year), while you can bet your last black polo-neck that, at this very minute, BBC and Channel 4 commissioning editors are searching for the definitive dramatic statement on the state we are in. One cannot recall a similar uprising by artists from the right when faced with the election of an Obama or a Blair. In the case of the latter, as those gruesome Cool Britannia receptions at Downing Street showed, left-leaning artists were only too keen to trade artistic integrity for a glass of warm fizz and the chance to hear Tony reminisce about his days in Ugly Rumours.

Artists on the Left are more likely to see speaking out politically as part of their job to hold a mirror up to society, speak truth to power, and all those other jazzy riffs beloved of folk singers and departing UK ambassadors to the EU. Few seem to ask themselves, however, whether any of these protests, this anger, ever has the desired effect of making politicians change their ways and policies.

In the post-war, pre-Trump era, there have been two major instances of artists taking on politicians at their own game. Opposition to the Vietnam War, and a determination that its like should never be repeated, found its way into painting, film, music, television and writing of all kinds. In the UK, artists reacted to the election of Margaret Thatcher, and ever lengthening dole queues, by writing songs (Stand Down Margaret/Ghost Town), angry plays and television dramas (The Boys from the Blackstuff).

But, in most instances, the effect was non-existent, slow-burning, or only seemed significant later. Apocalypse Now, for instance, was released in 1979, Born on the Fourth of July in 1989. The Iraq invasion happened in 2003. Pop’s revolt against Mrs Thatcher did not stop her being re-elected in 1983 and 1987. It was her own true blue MPs, not Red Wedge, who succeeded in ousting her.

If artists have an impact it is far more subtle than getting people on to the cobbles or into the voting booths. Artists exercise what diplomats call “soft power”. What they say or do can change the culture, the mood music that plays in the background while more obvious politicking is taking place. In Scotland, for example, who can say how much impact The Proclaimers had on Scotland’s political reawakening?

How many teenagers heard great pop songs sung in accents just like their own and started to think that it might be kind of cool being Scottish? How many learned the stories behind the lines “Bathgate no more, Linwood no more, Methil no more, Irvine no more” after hearing Letter from America? One youngster who certainly did, as she revealed on Desert Island Discs, was Nicola Sturgeon.

Ms Streep received far more bouquets than brickbats for her Golden Globes speech, which could encourage other artists to speak out. Her condemnation of Mr Trump for mocking a disabled reporter was indeed righteous and timely. Though the president-elect has denied the charge, saying at the time he had no idea who the reporter was, I defy anyone to watch the clip on YouTube and not side with Streep.

But that glowing review aside, artists should not kid themselves that they are players of real importance in these strange, topsy-turvy political times. If artists’ mockery could have stopped Mr Trump he would not be days away from his inauguration. All those jokes on late-night chat shows were for nothing. If anything, the level of glee surrounding candidate Trump fuelled the fascination with him. It certainly gave him millions of dollars’ worth of media exposure for free.

The hard truth is that artists helped Mr Trump far more than they hindered him. He could, and can, too easily dismiss them as being part of the elite that many Americans grew to despise. What did they know about jobs leaving the country, homes being repossessed, the day-to-day struggle to get by? Given his wealthy background, Mr Trump knew nothing of such things either but he knew enough to use his celebrity for political advancement. After that, he turned on the business he was once so keen to support. Among presidents, only Ronald Reagan, his hero, has more acting credits on the Internet Movie Database.

The mood music will change in time. The jokes will start to hit home among those who are now Trump supporters. Writers will eventually have the best lines again. But, for now, whatever they say on stage at the Oscars, Mr Trump, the celebrity-in-chief, is the only show in town.