Taylor Swift May Be Biden’s Secret Trump Card

Fans ahead of a Taylor Swift concert in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 6, 2023.Photographer: Seth Herald/Getty Images 

Young American voters think President Joe Biden is too old. They’re upset over Israel’s war in Gaza and frustrated on student loan forgiveness.

But one person could help Biden shake it off: Taylor Swift. 

Swift performs during The Eras Tour in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on May 20, 2023.Photographer: Scott Eisen/TAS23/Getty Images

Back in 2016, Swift held her tongue and didn’t endorse Hillary Clinton. Did she regret it? Flash forward to today and Swift has an even bigger voice and clout.

Her dislike of former President Donald Trump is known. She denounced him for “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” in a 2020 tweet. Her power to drive people to vote is also evident. In September, Swift urged her fans on Instagram to register, with Vote.org reporting some 35,000 subsequent registrations.

The question is whether this time she will jump into the fray with all the ugliness that will entail. The White House is earnestly aligning itself with Swifties. It called for action from Congress and social media companies after deepfake pictures of the superstar spread on X last week.

With the presidential election contest increasingly resembling a gerontocracy, Trump’s allies and conservative media outlets such as Fox News are in a tizzy over Swift.

That a pop star could decide the outcome of the US election may seem like a stretch but right now — whether she wants it or not — she just might.

The omnipresent pop star has dominated American life over the past year, from her record-setting concert tour — which some believe helped the US avoid recession — to her appearances at National Football League games in support of boyfriend Travis Kelce, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Her anticipated attendance at next month’s Super Bowl has featured in coverage of the game — reliably the most watched event in America.

If the November 2024 election for US president were being held today, and Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump were on the ballot, for whom would you vote?

There’s plenty of reason to believe her popularity could translate into a political force. Some 18% of US voters — including roughly 3 in 10 young voters — said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Swift, according to a Newsweek poll this week.