Yesterday (September 15), Donald Trump officially declared his disdain for Taylor Swift. After the singer endorsed Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris last week, Trump wrote “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” in all caps and posted it on his Truth Social account, the alt-tech social media platform that he owns.
Following last week’s presidential debate – where Trump boasted about the size of his rallies, made racist comments about Haitian immigrants, and claimed Harris wants to perform “transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison”– Swift had enough. She took to Instagram, endorsing Harris: “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes that I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift wrote. “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader, and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
Donald Trump, a 78-year-old man, who is candidate for President of the United States, screams in all caps, “I hate Taylor Swift!”. There is nothing normal about this. pic.twitter.com/ByJvQK5SCD
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) September 15, 2024
There’s a reason politicians are desperate for Swift’s endorsement. After she backed Harris and urged young people to register to vote, voter registration spiked by 400 per cent, with analysts calling it the “Swift Effect”. Her post not only increased voter registration numbers but also prompted other celebrities to endorse Harris, proudly embracing their ‘childless cat lady’ status. Stars like Lena Dunham, Aubrey Plaza, and the legendary Stevie Nicks followed her lead, standing up for the idea that a woman’s value isn’t tied to having children.
As Jenny Jane wrote in her previous article covering Swift’s endorsement of Harris: “In the face of patriarchal traditionalists, she is their [Republicans’] worst nightmare.” With right-wing figures like Elon Musk and JD Vance stoking the flames of the racist ‘great replacement theory’ – which claims people of colour are replacing white people and demands that white women have more children – Swift is challenging that narrative head on.
However, we shouldn’t get too swept up in the faux feminist rhetoric Swift and the Democrats are pushing. The same conversation is also happening around Harris, who has no biological children, with liberal feminists asserting that she does not need to have children to be a good president. While this is true (although, is there any such thing as a ‘good’ President of the United States of America?), it feels as though Democrats are disingenuously harping on this subject to distract us from Harris’ questionable policies such as her support for arming Israel, her pro-fracking stance, and her refusal to ban guns.
This desire to distract the public from her poor policies is also why the Harris campaign jumped on Trump’s anti-Swift rant. In response to his Truth Social post, Harris’ team issued a statement packed with Swift references: “Mr. Not-at-all Fine has spent this week working through his feelings, whining about his Champagne Problems, and spending exactly none of his time addressing the issues facing the American people.” Those on X have similarly criticised Harris’ campaign for their statement, and for being obsessed with pop culture while ignoring bigger issues – such as the recent targeting of Haitians in Ohio following Trump’s racist comments at the debate.
Even though there is an important discussion to be had around Republicans’ dangerous obsession with the great replacement theory and women’s reproductive choices and rights, we are not having these discussions in meaningful ways. Swift has long debated whether her political commentary is a help or a hindrance. While it’s still unclear which it is, what is painfully obvious is that both parties are clinging to her for relevance – and in doing so, they are sidestepping the critical conversations we should be having before the election in November.
