Are you ready for it? Taylor Swift can't seem to shake off conspiracy theories, according to a new poll from Monmouth University.
According to the survey, nearly 1 in 5 Americans believe that the "Love Story (Taylor's version)" singer is part of a covert government effort to help get President Joe Biden reelected in November.
Of that figure (18%), 83% are likely to support Biden's likely opponent in the fall, former President Donald Trump, and 71% identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Nearly three-quarters of that group (73%) think that the 2020 election was fraudulent, despite there being no evidence of widespread fraud in the contest, a statement verified by officials in both parties and resounding rejections of those claims in courts across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The supposed Taylor Swift PsyOp conspiracy has legs among a decent number of Trump supporters," Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. "Even many who hadn’t heard about it before we polled them accept the idea as credible."
"Welcome to the 2024 election," Murray continued (without adding "it's been waiting for you," a line that follows the lyric "Welcome to New York" in the eponymous Swift hit).
Just under half of those surveyed (46%) have even heard something about the conspiracy theory surrounding the "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" singer. And two-thirds of the American public (68%) are actually in favor of her "Reputation" when it comes to driving voter turnout; of that figure, Democrats (88%) and independents (71%) are more supportive than Republicans (42%).
Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce, star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, have been the subject of numerous conspiracies and far-right ire in recent weeks, particularly ahead of the Super Bowl, which saw Kelce's team beat the San Franciscto 49ers.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the former presidential candidate-turned-Trump backer, questioned last month in a social media post "if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall."
Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” the second most-watched cable news show in the country, ran a segment earlier in January accusing Swift of being a Pentagon-backed “psyop,” or psychological operation being enacted by the military on the unexpected U.S. populace. That’s an idea that has spread across right-wing social media and other TV networks like One America Network and Newsmax.
And Kelce has come under attack for his sponsorship deals with Bud Light, which drew right-wing ire for partnering with a transgender social media influencer last year, and Pfizer — for which he promotes the coronavirus vaccine despised by the anti-vaccine factions of the American right.
“There are whole hosts of issues that we could be working on together. The economy, affordable housing, public safety, national security, the challenges at the border,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said at a press conference on Thursday. “Extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to spend the week focused on [the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas and Taylor Swift. That's their agenda. It's performative politics.”
Much of the angst appears to derive from the American right’s fear that Swift will once again endorse President Biden in his likely reelection battle with Trump. While she endorsed Biden in 2020 and other Democrats in the years since, Swift’s stardom has only grown: her “Eras Tour” generated $1 billion between March and November of last year, the highest grossing tour of all time as it enters its second year.
Biden’s campaign is reportedly vying for Swift’s endorsement, which it views as a significant voter turnout and fundraising opportunity, according to the New York Times. And according to Rolling Stone, Trump’s campaign is reportedly fearful of the impact her endorsement could have on the race.
“We no longer watch, listen or discuss the same things. Television shows and musicians can be incredibly successful but unknown to large swaths of the country. The two biggest exceptions to this new reality are Taylor Swift and football,” wrote former Obama administration communications director Dan Pfieffer in his newsletter on Thursday, adding: “Having a bizarre meltdown over Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the Super Bowl is... weird and Americans don’t elect... weirdos. Just ask Ron DeSantis.”
Swift’s stadium tour averaged 72,500 attendees across 60 shows. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by a combined 44,000 votes in the key swing states of Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin. Had the now-president lost those states, the two candidates would have tied in the Electoral College vote. Swift has yet to speak publicly on the 2024 election, but a single Instagram story from the pop music giant last September encouraged thousands of people to register to vote.
“I don't think it's marginal. I've never seen a cultural phenomenon, especially in the modern era,” said Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, one of Republicans’ most prominent youth leaders, on his talk show on Wednesday. “I think that if she did a selfie video and said ‘Go vote for Biden,’ I think it could move millions of votes.”
Some Republicans have offered praise for Swift, differing from her far-right detractors. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Ka., a Chiefs fan, told Politico the conspiracy theories were “nonsense” and called her and Kelce’s relationship “an American love story.” And in an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday, right-wing Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., praised the musician who emerged out of Nashville in the early 2000s. Swift called Blackburn “Trump in a wig” in a documentary released in 2020.
“Taylor Swift is a really popular, talented young woman,” Blackburn said, adding of Swift’s insult: “I just ‘Shake it Off.’”