Experts Weigh In on Potential Impact of a Taylor Swift Presidential Endorsement: 'Very Marginal, But...'
Anyone who’s been around for more than a presidential election cycle or two generally understands that there’s a pretty good consensus on the value of celebrity endorsements.
In short, they’re generally worthless.
(Think of all the breathless celebrity support that failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received in 2016.)
But not all elections are the same, and all celebrities are certainly not the same, which leaves 2024 in an interesting predicament.
Could a massively popular music superstar (perhaps one that’s dating an NFL star and has drawn the ire of ISIS?) actually put her finger on the scale of an increasingly tightening November general election?
Probably not — but unlikely does not equate to impossibility.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke to a number of experts who gave their perspective on the potential impact of pop superstar Taylor Swift interjecting into the ongoing presidential battle between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
And the general response?
It’s unlikely to make a major impact, but there is a very real path for Swift’s presidential endorsement to make some sort of impact in 2024.
“As the female vote will be crucial in swaying the election, Swift’s endorsement could be crucial in influencing young female voters and reinforcing the notion that Harris, like [Barack] Obama before her, is presiding over the support of a movement rather than just a demographic in the national votes,” Mark Wheeler, a professor of political communications at London Metropolitan University, told the Reporter.
That argument is not especially compelling given that younger voters are notoriously unreliable on election day, but Wheeler’s point does highlight a potential issue for Trump — a potential thorn that could be especially aggravating given the other potential implications of a Swift endorsement for Harris.
Mark Harvey, associate professor at the University of St. Mary and author, gave the entertainment outlet a more tempered, but no less harrowing, outlook.
“It’s the people in the middle — the undecided — that Swift has the most potential to affect,” Harvey said. “I think it’s going to be very, very marginal, but it could be pivotal in swing states where there may be a very tight margin.”
And therein lies the major potential pitfall for both Harris and Trump, which is within those “very tight” margins.
Whatever one may think of the legitimacy of the 2020 elections, it’s inarguable that a number of the deciding margins in key battleground swing states were razor-thin.
And if those marginal differences can be swayed one way or another? It could be disastrous for either candidate.
Harris, who isn’t exactly subtle about hounding after endorsements of all sorts, obviously knows the value of winning those tiny margins.
And for what it’s worth, Trump seems to be aware of it, too.
The former president, never one to back down from a fight, is well known for his aggressive and surgical insults. He has no problem deploying that brand of toughness when needed, and as judiciously as possible.
And yet Trump has been oddly peaceful towards Swift, who infamously backed Democrats in 2020 and has been no particular fan of his. (And the less said about “Swifties for Kamala,” the better.)
As CNN chronicled in June, Trump was recently heard calling Swift “unusually beautiful” — which is a far cry from something like “Little Marco” or “Birdbrain Haley.”
And Trump even jokingly accepted support from “Swifties for Trump,” a meme which went viral.
Swift has not spoken about the 2024 general election, and it’s unclear if she ever will. Given her highly manicured image (similar to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson … Could you imagine a Johnson-Swift ticket in 2028?), there’s a good chance that she will remain silent on the issue.
I would be remiss not to mention that Swift, as unlikely as it may be, could simply have had a small change of heart when it comes to her political party of choice.
After all, the left isn’t exactly against radical terrorists from the Middle East (See: Hamas), not unlike the ISIS thugs that forced her to cancel concerts.
And those “tax credits for millionaires” that the left is constantly whining about would surely benefit Swift, no?
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