Why Taylor Swift Isn't Afraid Of Little Old Men
Why Taylor Swift Isn't Afraid Of Little Old Men
Childless cat ladies unite!
Taylor Swift made Donald Trump’s Tuesday even worse when she endorsed Kamala Harris shortly after the vice president left his shattered remains behind on the debate stage. In an Instagram post to her 284 million followers, Swift praised Harris as “a steady-handed, gifted leader” who “fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”
Swift added that she was “so heartened and impressed by [Harris’s] selection of running mate [Tim Walz], who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
This was what President Joe Biden would describe as a “big fucking deal.” Taylor Swift is so popular that even the most annoying “am I supposed to know who that is? I don’t watch TV or Marvel movies” snob doesn’t bothering feigning ignorance of the pop star’s existence. Swift shared a voter registration link that federal officials estimate more than 400,000 people have used to visit Vote.gov. She reinforced her “vote baby vote” message at the Video Music Awards Wednesday night: “The fact that this is a fan-voted award and you voted for this, I appreciate it so much,” she said, “and if you are over 18, please register to vote for something else that’s very important coming up: the 2024 presidential election.” (Watch below.)
MAGA swiftly enters stalker mode
When Taylor Swift endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, she posted her message on both Instagram and Twitter. Although she still has an account at Elon Musk’s online Klan rally, she’s far less active there and perhaps deliberately shared her endorsement message (and the associated traffic and publicity) exclusively on Instagram. The post, which includes a photo of Swift with one of her three cats (they are Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button), is signed “With love and hope, Taylor Swift, childless cat lady.” As you can see, Trump’s internet troll of a running mate JD Vance managed to insult the most powerful woman on Earth, who’s now working to hand off that title to Kamala Harris.
Ever the savvy political operator, Vance steadfastly refuses to apologize for his now infamous “childless cat ladies” smear that’s become a powerful counter-slogan against the Trump/Vance ticket. During a Fox News interview, Vance dismissed Swift as “a billionaire celebrity who … is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans.” Vance is presumably aware that Donald Trump exists.
“When grocery prices go up 20 percent, it hurts most Americans, it doesn’t hurt Taylor Swift. When housing prices become unaffordable, it doesn’t affect Taylor Swift or any other billionaire,” Vance continued. “It does affect middle-class Americans all over our country.” Trump is not “middle-class” and doesn’t buy his own groceries. He probably thinks the average price of a banana is $10.
Vance owes his career to Peter Thiel and a half dozen other billionaire donors who don’t care about rising food and housing costs. They bought Vance at garage sale prices because they know he’ll block any legislation that might actually help working people while reliably voting to lower their tax rates to negative zero.
Swift is not a pineapple heiress. She’s an extremely successful businesswoman whose industry is the first to feel the hit from a struggling economy. When people are paying more for groceries and rent, they are more selective about their discretionary spending. Sure, Swift can still sell out stadiums at top dollar but it’s absurd to suggest that she doesn’t care about how the economy impacts middle-class Americans. They’re her customer base!
MAGA’s response to Swift’s endorsement has been predictably gross and only reaffirms her decision to back Harris. Elon Musk, another emotionally stunted billionaire bro who’s openly supportive of Trump, posted this bizarre message: “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
Musk referenced the racist libel from MAGA weirdos about Haitian immigrants eating people’s cats, but what’s worse than his shameless bigotry is his creepy stalker vibe. He can’t comprehend that Swift might’ve willingly chosen not to have kids. “I will give you a child” is not even a clumsy attempt at “romance.” It’s a barely concealed rape fantasy.
Republican commentator David Rubin less than subtly threatened Swift with sexual violence because she expressed a political opinion he didn’t like: “Taylor Swift, you are a young pretty girl,” he said about a grown-ass woman in her mid-30s. “Do you know what the gang members from Venezuela do to young pretty girls? It ain’t pretty!”
Rubin’s rhetoric isn’t meant solely to intimidate Swift, who probably has an army of robot ninjas at her command, but also the young white women who Swift might inspire to vote contrary to MAGA’s interests. The implication is that while MAGA men might not personally sexually assault non-MAGA women, they might just withdraw their white male protection and leave them alone to fend off the scary brown hordes. It’s always been a repugnant message but it’s even more twisted when the Republican nominee is himself an admitted sexual predator.
MAGA wants celebrities to shut up, unless they’re supporting them
Republicans tend to view celebrity endorsements the way they do minorities voting — something they only really tolerate if they’re certain it benefits them.
Over on Fox News, Harris Faulkner suggested that Swift just shut up and sing: “She can vote any kind of way she wants,” Faulkner graciously conceded. “She can talk about it off stage, but when people pay to see you, just perform.”
Jeanine Pirro, a former judge and prosecutor, seemed unaware of the First Amendment when she ranted about Swift, “What makes you think that the way you think should influence other people? You sing for a living. Just deal with that.”
Actor Jon Voight is a frequent fixture on Fox News, where he’s passionately defended Trump. Actor Dennis Quaid has spent the past month on Fox News peddling his lousy Ronald Reagan biopic and praising Trump, whom he favorably compares to Reagan and describes as a “very principled man.” (Trump is an adjudicated rapist and a convicted felon.) Actor Dean Cain endorsed Trump on Jesse Watters’s Incel Variety Hour.
The Republican National Convention gave speaking slots to Trump-backing reality TV star Amber Rose and union busting heel Hulk Hogan — a dramatic comedown from the days when Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood addressed an empty chair posing as Barack Obama. Both the empty chair and Dick Cheney have endorsed Harris, so now Trump’s stuck with Kid Rock and “Try That In A Small Town” singer Jason Aldean, who sat next to Trump at the RNC.
Fox News has devoted entire segments to has-been actors who claim Hollywood has rejected them because they publicly expressed right-wing views. No one tells them to just shut up and “perform,” an admittedly generous description for what Kevin Sorbo has done professionally.
Technically, Elon Musk’s job is to produce cars that don’t blow up all the time and maintain a social media platform. No one’s paid him to turn what was once Twitter into a right-wing disinformation outlet. Yet Republicans celebrate Musk for defending (their) “free speech” while seeking to deny Taylor Swift that same constitutional right.
There’s an obvious double-standard at work that’s wholly consistent with MAGA’s overall autocratic position. They don’t respect the rights of anyone who doesn’t look, think, or behave like them.
Republicans will pretend otherwise but they’d desperately hoped that Swift would either endorse Trump (always a stretch) or just be bullied into keeping silent. Last month, a thirsty Trump had shared images on his pitiful Truth Social site that suggested Swift had gone MAGA: One image depicted Swift as a more aesthetically appealing Uncle Sam with the message: “Taylor Wants You to Vote for Donald Trump.” Others showed a flock of young women dressed in matching “Swifties for Trump” t-shirts. However, unlike photos of Kamala Harris’s supporters, these images were entirely AI-generated. The real deal Taylor Swift called out Trump’s character defamation.
“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site,” she wrote in her Instagram post. “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”
A rejected Trump lashed out at Swift in his usual gutter trash fashion.
“I actually like [non pop star Brittany Mahomes] much better if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. “She’s a big Trump fan. I was not a Taylor Swift fan … It was just a question of time ... You couldn’t possibly endorse Biden. You look at Biden — you couldn’t endorse him. But she’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it ... in the marketplace. But no, I liked Brittany.”
God, he’s so small.
Blackface arts specialist Megyn Kelly vowed revenge against Swift as if the pop star’s endorsement caused her hair to fall out.
“You can kiss your sales to the Republican audience goodbye, Taylor; hope you enjoyed them while you had them ... This is disgusting. If she wants to vote Harris-Walz, she can do it all she wants but to say the reason she is doing it is because of Tim Walz’s stance on LGBTQ … Fuck you, Taylor Swift ... This pair, Taylor and Travis Kelce, are the epitomes of elite snobs.”
Kelly is herself an elite snob who NBC literally paid $69 million to make her go away. She seems to think actively promoting bigotry grants her folksy bonafides. Kelly has smeared Walz with perverse groomer lies that no decent person believes. However, Swift recognizes Walz as a true queer ally, back when such allyship was a political and professional risk for a heterosexual football coach in the rural midwest. Walz’s joyful reaction when Rachel Maddow told him about Swift’s endorsement is more powerful than Kelly’s performative hatred. (Watch below.)
Republican Jesse Sullivan, who ran for governor of Illinois in 2022, went full “burn the witch,” posting on social media: “Taylor Swift is a litmus test for Christian men. Ask yourself: does my wife or do any of my children look up to her? If yes, then you are failing! Your main job is to help your wife and children get to Heaven. Her immodest dress. Her constant use of the Lord's name in vain. Her endorsement for Harris's anti-Christian agenda of murdering children and pushing LGBTQ sins.”
Swift’s vocal support for Harris offends MAGA far more than any other celebrity’s. She’s their fallen angel, but one who willingly left their kingdom of whiteness. It terrifies them to imagine how many others might follow her.
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The "Right" are not even close to a majority in this country, and the only reasons they have any power at all, frankly, is that 1) not enough liberals and moderates exercise their power at the ballot box and 2) the Republican Party has consistently fought to prevent those of their opponents who do vote from doing so. At every turn, Republicans get what they want through voter suppression, subterfuge and outright lies, not because they represent the majority of Americans.
She’s a boss, works her ass off and doesn’t need permission. Terrifying to patriarchy right?