Scott Tibbs
The saturation coverage of Taylor Swift is unhinged
By Scott Tibbs, February 21, 2024
I remember liking some of Taylor Swift's country music songs. Other than that, I did not care very much, but she sold a whole lot of albums and singles, and filled arenas. With her popularity and cultural influence, some people started to try to get her to denounce Donald Trump. Some on the Left
demanded that Swift denounce her "neo-Nazi" fans. My thought was "leave her alone and let her sing."
Now we are into 2024, and she is a cultural icon. Swift's latest boyfriend plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, and conspiracy theories started to swirl. Taylor Swift is a Pentagon asset, don'cha know? She is part of a Deep State conspiracy to take down Trump. All of this is silly. We do not need to make everything a conspiracy theory. Spreading these wild theories does not just make the theorists look bad, it makes Republicans generally look bad. However, I had no urge to write about the whole situation until it reached a critical mass of stupidity.
One of my favorite memes was Travis Kelce sporting a band-aid after a COVID-19 vaccine, showing he and Swift are part of "Team (George) Soros." Oh, you mean the vaccine that Trump pushed through the regulatory process with Operation Warp Speed and has repeatedly touted as one of his signature accomplishments as President?
That "Soros vaccine?" And are we really going to tout the NFL team from
San Francisco as "Team Jesus?" Really?
I mentioned the "neo-Nazi" scandal at the top for a reason: The Leftists who were sharing this have no standing to criticize MAGA conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift in 2024. Sit down.
At the same time, spare us the gaslighting. Swift and her new romance have been all over the mainstream news media and the sports media's coverage of the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl. Magazine racks at stores (yes, those are still a thing) have multiple different prestige magazines about Swift and her life. The "Pentagon asset" theory may be nutty, but conservatives are not "conspiracy theorists" for noticing the coverage of Swift and her potential efforts to help Democrats in the 2024 election. She did endorse Joe Biden in 2020, after all.
Then, because Donald Trump cannot stay out of any political or cultural controversy and must always make everything about him,
he had to weigh in with this gem:
There’s no way she could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money.
Is this guy serious? Swift was releasing music back in 2006 - ten years before Trump was elected.
She made $45 million in 2010 and many millions more since then. She would have continued to make millions no matter who was elected in 2016, and does not owe Trump anything. The idea that Swift endorsing Biden again would be "disloyal" is narcissism-driven nonsense.
Look, people. All of this is deeply stupid and it shows how our political class - both commenters and the elected officials - are deeply unserious people. We get the leaders we deserve, because we are a deeply unserious country. All of the controversy and adulation surrounding Taylor Swift is idolatry of celebrity. A population that takes policy seriously would focus on policy instead of stupid celebrity gossip and unhinged conspiracy theories. We are sadly long past that point.
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