After last week’s presidential debate, pop star Taylor Swift jumped into the political arena again, offering her endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election. Swift, who likes to promote herself as climate-conscious, wasn’t exactly shocking anyone with her pick, given her history of backing Democrats. We all remember when she threw her support behind Tennessee Democrats Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper back in 2018 and then joined the Biden-Harris cheerleading squad in 2020.
While her political leanings have become about as predictable as one of her catchy break-up songs, this time around, Swift seemed to think her star power might sway some moderate “Swifties” to the Democratic side. The only problem? It’s not exactly playing out that way. Sure, Swift’s fanbase is loyal, but the idea that they’d all rush to vote Democrat just because she said so is turning out to be a bit of a miscalculation.
Apparently, Trump might not be the only one giving a side-eye to Swift’s political dabbling. Kamala Harris herself probably isn’t feeling too thrilled after seeing the latest YouGov poll numbers. It turns out only a measly 8% of respondents said they were “somewhat” or “much more likely” to vote Democrat thanks to Swift’s endorsement. Even worse, 20% of those polled said her backing of Harris actually made them “somewhat” or “much less likely” to support the VP. Ouch. The majority, though, didn’t seem to care either way, with 66% saying Swift’s opinion wouldn’t sway their vote one bit.
Adding to the humor, social media lit up with folks poking fun at the whole situation. While 32% of respondents believed Swift’s endorsement might help Harris, 27% thought it would have no effect at all. And let’s not forget, the biggest Swift fans who took part in the survey were already registered Democrats—mostly women—who were planning to vote for Harris regardless. So, for all the buzz around Swift’s latest political move, it seems like her influence might be falling flat outside her usual echo chamber.
In the end, this little political song and dance isn’t giving Harris much of a boost, and the poll results have left more people laughing than changing their vote. Swift might write some great hits, but convincing moderates to lean left clearly isn’t one of them.
