Trump faces risks as allies clash with Taylor Swift

Trump may be turned away by many voters, as his supporters continuously criticize Taylor Swift, a singer who has a lot of influence with young people.

Republican conservatives who support former President Donald Trump are taking a hard line against Taylor Swift amid speculation that the singer may publicly endorse President Joe Biden in the 2024 White House race.

Conservative media and social media have been fueling conspiracy theories targeting Swift to stop her from expressing her political views. The attacks intensified after the New York Times Last month, it was reported that President Biden's campaign was actively trying to convince Swift to endorse him.

Former President Donald Trump in Laconia, New Hampshire, January 22. Photo: AP

Mr. Trump, who is not shy about expressing his opinions, has so far stayed out of the fray, although Rolling Stone magazine reported last week that allies of the former president have pledged to launch a “holy war” against Swift, especially if she sides with the Democrats in November’s election.

Swift recently went public with her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, a love story that has not only sparked more interest in the sport among Swift's fan base, but has also fueled a slew of baseless conspiracy theories from the pro-Trump right.

According to them, Kelce and his teammates' entry into the Super Bowl, the final of the American National Football League, will certainly attract Taylor Swift to appear at the event. They believe that this is all an arrangement by the Democratic Party to attract viewers to vote for President Biden.

“I wonder who will win the Super Bowl this year,” Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate who has voiced support for Mr. Trump, wrote on the social network X. “And I wonder if there will be any endorsements from a fake celebrity couple this fall.”

Ramaswamy is by far the highest-ranking Republican to take on Swift, but he's not the only one. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro warned Swift last week to "stay out of politics."

But observers say the push by conservative Republican voices to attack Swift will pose a significant risk to Trump, given his struggles with women and young voters.

"Going to war with Taylor Swift is definitely not the way to win over young voters and women," said Kaivan Shroff, press secretary for the progressive group Gen-Z Dream for America.

Last week, a Quinnipiac University poll exposed former President Trump’s weaknesses with women, who make up a large portion of Taylor Swift’s fan base. The survey found President Biden leading the former president by 6 percentage points among this group of voters, with 58% of women saying they support Biden.

The poll adds to concerns that Trump’s lack of popularity with women could cost him in his rematch with President Biden. The former president has long been accused of sexism and was recently criticized for attacking former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, his main Republican rival, after his victory in the New Hampshire primary.

Meanwhile, Mr. Biden has seen his support eroded among younger voters, who have rejected the president because of his age and his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, raising hopes that Republicans may not have to worry about this group in November.

But Biden could benefit if this group of voters becomes angry with Trump for the threats and attacks that Republicans are hurling at Swift. According to a Pew Research analysis from early last year, Swift’s fans are overwhelmingly young and female.

"It's going to be a tsunami that's very difficult to stop," said conservative activist Charlie Kirk, referring to the possibility of Swift endorsing President Biden. "We better be prepared. It looks like everything is leaning toward that."

Responding to the conservative backlash against the singer, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, one of the most vocal Republican critics, called Swift a "national treasure."

Swift has not said what role, if any, she will play in the 2024 election. But she has been vocal in encouraging her fans to register to vote, attracting more than 35,000 to the election website Vote.org last fall. She also endorsed Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterm elections.

While it's difficult to gauge Swift's influence with young voters in November's election, some data suggests she has huge potential.

A fall 2023 survey by the Harvard Institute of Politics found that 19% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they would be more likely to vote if they "received a phone call or text from Taylor Swift encouraging them to vote."

According to a Newsweek poll conducted this week, 18% of voters said they were "more likely" to vote for a candidate backed by Swift.

“I definitely think the Republicans are making a mistake by going all-in on criticizing Taylor Swift,” said Victoria Hammett, deputy executive director of Gen-Z for Change. “Republicans have a hard time reaching young voters with their policies, but now they’re alienating that base even more with frivolous attacks on people like Taylor Swift.”

"The top issues for young people today are the economy , the environment, abortion rights, gun violence prevention," said Marianna Pecora, communications director for the nonprofit Voters of Tomorrow. "And Taylor Swift is someone who has championed many of those issues in one way or another."

Swift is a staunch defender of the LGBTQ community, urging fans to sign a petition supporting the Equality Act to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ people. She has also spoken out against the Supreme Court's move against women's abortion rights.

Taylor Swift at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA, on January 7. Photo: AFP

David Jackson, a professor at Bowling Green State University, said the Republican attacks on Swift showed they were trying to "overshadow" the singer before she endorsed a candidate. But he added that former President Trump, the Republican frontrunner, is also a celebrity who has made the jump to politics.

"The Republicans are in a bit of a bind, because they have a celebrity candidate who has seriously undermined the party's credibility by arguing that celebrities should stay out of politics," Jackson said.

Vu Hoang (According to Hill, AFP, Reuters )

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