Former President Trump just can’t shake the news about Taylor Swift.
From questioning whether Swift has supported President Biden in the past to commenting on her appearance and gushing about the megastar during a meeting with House Republicans, as the 45th president, Swift appears to be a topic that Trump is “all too familiar with.”
During a private meeting with House Republicans last week, Trump questioned the possibility of Swift endorsing Biden and backing the president in the 2020 election, according to a lawmaker who attended the meeting. “It’s clear that he’s been thinking about it,” the lawmaker said.
Writer Ramin Setoodeh said Trump was “totally obsessed” with Swift because he sees fame as “one of the most valuable currencies in life”.
“So it really matters to him that Taylor Swift, one of the most famous people on the planet, has not endorsed him,” said Setoodeh, author of “The Apprentice: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Led America to Alice Through the Looking Glass,” which was released this week.
Setoodeh, co-editor in chief of Variety magazine, interviewed Trump for his book and asked the former president about the “Shake It Off” singer.
As he details in his book, when asked about the superstar, Trump called her “unusually beautiful” and said, “I think she’s a liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump.”
“But is she a liberal or is that just an act?” he asked Setoodeh.
Setoodeh said Trump “planted the idea that Taylor Swift secretly had a thing for him because I think it would be too hard for Donald Trump to accept that someone so well-known and with such a large platform would not endorse his candidacy.”
But political experts say Trump’s constant referencing of the singing sensation could also point to a larger problem for both him and Biden: winning over younger voters.
“The idea is [young voters] “I’m excited about the election. Will Taylor Swift increase voter turnout a little bit? I think it very well may,” said Dan Shea, a political science professor at Colby College in Maine and co-author of “The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and America’s Divides.”
“This is a very close election. This is a very close election. Can Taylor Swift mobilize voters and non-voters in some key states? Maybe. I don’t think it’s impossible,” Shay said of the pop superstar’s influence on Election Day.
“Younger voters are supporting Biden by a large margin, but maybe not as much as they were four years ago and I think it’s also a question of enthusiasm,” Shea said of Biden’s support among voters under 30, citing concerns about the environment, abortion access, inflation and “deep insecurity” about housing costs.
“I think even Donald Trump understands the value of Taylor Swift’s support,” Setoodeh said.
Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton expressed uncertainty about why the former commander in chief would mention Swift so many times, but said there’s “nothing mathematically to suggest that.” [Trump] There is nothing to be worried about.”
“In 2020, Swift worked with Vote.org to encourage young people to register to vote via her Instagram, where she has 272 million followers,” Singleton said.
“Of these followers, Vote.org registered 35,000, which is just 0.0129% of her total followers. If this is political influence, then there’s nothing to worry about,” the political consultant added.
The Biden campaign has been strategizing to secure Swift’s endorsement for some time, with campaign officials telling The Hill that she is the celebrity endorsement they covet.
But Tomorrow’s Voters executive director Santiago Mayer said the left-leaning group was not “counting on” an endorsement from Swift.
“Our youth strategy doesn’t depend on any one person,” said Mayer, who calls himself a Swiftie.
“I don’t think the majority of people are going to vote just because Swift tells them to. As long as she can use her platform, it’s an incredible megaphone,” he said.
Republican strategist Doug Hay acknowledged that Swift’s support among young voters is invaluable, but said he was “under no illusions that this is going to swing the vote significantly.”
Colby College’s Sia said Trump’s frequent references to the Grammy winner are likely an effort to “minimize Taylor Swift’s support for Biden.”
“She’ll probably support Biden again, but will she encourage voters to go to the polls? Will she do it in a very aggressive way or will she do it in a low-key way? I think Donald Trump is very pragmatic. He’ll do what he needs to do with Taylor Swift to try to minimize that,” Shea said.
Setoodeh said he wasn’t holding his breath, hoping that Trump would land a surprise endorsement from Swift.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think anyone who knows Taylor Swift knows she’s not going to support Donald Trump.”
Mayer speculated that there may be another factor driving Trump’s comments about Swift: He feels threatened by the 34-year-old music phenom.
“She’s a powerful woman and it’s powerful women that he’s afraid of. I think to some extent he’s angry that he doesn’t have the backing of the culture. The fact that he can’t compete says a lot about how important he is and what his agenda is with young people,” Meyer said.
“Hate me, hate me. Trump is Trump,” Hay said of Trump’s recent comments about Swift.
