The ongoing infantilisation of American politics and discourse is something that can only be observed from the sidelines with increasing bemusement.
Watching Trump’s and Biden’s antics is sad enough. But more recently I guess the fate of the free world rests in the hands of a pop star…?
That’s what everyone seemed to be telling us, at least.
But the real embarrassment is the fatuousness of both the mainstream US media and the online/’alt’ channels and content producers, both of which promoted and amplified the notion that Taylor Swift may be the kingmaker in the upcoming presidential election.
The former suggested Swift can influence a substantial number of young voters to back Joe Biden, while the latter think Swift’s massive exposure and success in the last year is all a psy-op to make Trump lose when she eventually tells people to vote for Biden.
There’s more to the conspiracy theory too (naturally). Like Swift’s romantic relationship with the Kansas football player being fake/staged in order to build up the supposed psy-op.
And of course the Superbowl itself being a psy-op, the result of the game being rigged, and all for the sake of building to Swift’s all-powerful Biden endorsement (which still hasn’t come yet, by the way).
Are you keeping up? I’m barely managing to.
Admittedly, I don’t know anything about Taylor Swift. I know that she’s hugely successful, and very popular among young girls. But I couldn’t name a song.
And I’m in England, so I don’t really know American football or who this dude is that Swift is shacked up with.
I’m aware there’s a longstanding conspiracy theory that Superbowls are rigged. But I’m unversed in the subject (and uninterested), so let’s put that to one side.
Oh, apparently Swift is also a clone. And let’s definitely put that one to one side too.
Like a lot of the viral conspiracy theories that flow through the lifeblood of the most, shall we say ‘enthusiastic’, sections of the MAGA community, the Taylor Swift one seems to miss the mark.
I believe in conspiracies, of course. And in psy-ops. And I wouldn’t put anything past the Pentagon. But if *this* is the best they can do, I don’t imagine Trump’s campaign has much to be worried about.
Let’s not forget the power of Trump NFTs. And those glorious $399 golden ‘Never Surrender’ shoes!
The idea of pop figures influencing voters isn’t new: Sinatra famously campaigned for JFK and is often credited (perhaps too much) with having played a significant role in that outcome.
But the Trump fanatics seem to be showing their insecurity here.
Firstly, what would be wrong with Swift endorsing Biden? If it sways some people, then fine. Trump’s campaign will also employ its own bag of tricks to influence people (and boy, do they have bags of tricks) – and that’s all part of the game.
Does anyone really think Taylor Swift is *that* powerful that her endorsement could be such a major factor?
And if a chart popstar endorsing Biden is enough to deprive Trump of enough votes to matter, then how come Hillary still lost in 2016 after a whole procession of pop superstars and Hollywood A-listers publicly endorsed her and condemned Trump?
Those were embarrassing spectacles, by the way: watching desperate Hillary wheel out celebrity after celebrity.
American politics was already a sad freak show at that point. And it’s only gotten worse.
Or is the problem that Trump can’t muster up any superstars of comparable stature to counter the apparently formidable power of Swift?
I mean, who does Trump have? Kid fucking Rock? Oh God, that’s embarrassing.
Which is a shame: because a Battle of the Celebrity Presidential Endorsers would be a great entertainment for the masses. If only someone other than Kid Rock could bring themselves to support Trump.
They could even have a new stage in the election debates: after the Vice Presidential candidates debate and the Presidential debates, you could have the celebrity endorsers debate.
Actually, fuck it – I would love to see Taylor Swift and Kid Rock debate head to head on CNN.
It would be way more entertaining than watching a sad and confused Joe Biden debating a rambling, unhinged Donald Trump again.
Come to think of it, it’s a shame Kanye West seems to no longer be the enthusiastic Trump hype-man he was a few years ago: because Swift versus Kanye would be a sensational clash for the ages.
It’s still fascinating that we already inhabit a world in which Kanye tried to run for president himself. That reality-tv/reality overlap has really spiralled. But I think we should cut Kanye some slack, if only on account of his spectacular Alex Jones interview being one of the most entertaining spectacles ever committed to film.
His “net and Yahoo” gag alone was worth it.
Hey, talking of Taylor Swift, don’t they say Kanye is a clone as well? These clones are everywhere.
Trump himself, remember, began as a celebrity candidate in the first place: until he evolved into something else. But he’s still, at the core, a celebrity candidate.
And he’s probably going to win this next election.
I don’t believe for a moment that Taylor Swift is going to stop that.
But the fact that the ‘Taylor Swift Psy-Op’ has garnered so much attention and discussion is, again, a sad reflection of the state of modern society and the continuing infantilisation of American elections.
What’s truly damning is that real, bread-and-butter conspiracies like the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the role it played in the 2016 election wasn’t discussed anywhere near as much as this Taylor Swift sideshow.
Newsflash: elections are manipulated, voters are both overtly and covertly influenced, and dirty tricks and campaigns are being run all the time. I’d be more concerned about Facebook, AI, bots and algorithms, lobbyists and vested interests, foreign meddling, outright crooked politicians, and all the rest of it.
Not Taylor Swift.
But the fact that the entire freak show apparently culminated in a shooting incident at the victory parade just reminds us that all this nonsense easily becomes very serious. Not that the incident was related directly to the Taylor Swift stuff.
But the fact that it occurred in relation to the event acts as a warning – if any was needed – about how dangerous and destabilising this coming election in the US is going to be.
Bob Geldof is right when he says Taylor Swift should stay out of the politics for her own safety. It’s really not worth the trouble.
Thanks for that. The sad but hilarious truth is that either Travis Kelce or Taylor Swift would probably make a better President than Biden or Trump.. I really think that these elections are empty pageantry at this time. Regardless of the result, the next President will be an empty puppet serving special interest groups and impervious to the well-being of the people or the nation.
Thanks for commenting, James. Yes, it’s all rather sad and empty.