There’s nothing in American tradition so dumb that politics can’t make it dumber. As proof, look no additional than the breathless media protection of the connection between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, which could be very very similar to every other courtship between two folks, aside from just a few minor particulars: their attractiveness, their huge wealth (Swift and Kelce mix for over $1 billion, in the identical approach that Michael Jordan and Stacey King as soon as mixed for 70 factors towards the Cavs), the obvious likability of their potential in-laws, and the involvement of the NFL, Fox Information, and two presidents of america.
How did we get right here? Why are a pop star and a soccer participant all of the sudden huge tales within the 2024 election? For present President Joe Biden, the reply is straightforward: Swift endorsed him within the 2020 election — however with cookies as an alternative of his true love, so perhaps she didn’t like him that a lot.
She’s additionally liable for record one-day voter registration, and he or she fucking hates Trump, which is why, because the New York Times reviews, she’s atop The White Home’s wishlist of 2024 surrogates. Some elected officers supporting Biden are already begging her in public, which suggests her inbox needs to be loopy. Have you ever ever donated $5 and been inundated with follow-ups? Now think about if considered one of your Instagram posts delivered near 35,000 votes; she may need an entire staffer whose job is to hit ‘unsubscribe.’
In the meantime, Trumpland has declared a “holy war” on Swift, which on the floor looks as if an overreaction to a plate of cookies. However, like a cameo in a Star Wars sequence on Disney+, this battle makes a bit extra sense if you happen to learn the lore. In some methods it’s an extension of Trump’s anti-vaccine stances, with Kelce showing in advertisements for the Pfizer jab. Swift’s feuding with Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn in all probability has one thing to do with it, however I’ll be sincere, I bought misplaced across the time Fox Information was questioning, “Is Taylor Swift a Pentagon PsyOp Asset?”
It’s solely getting crazier. Prior to now weeks, each failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and the far-right OAN have overtly urged that the Tremendous Bowl is rigged with a view to throw the election for Biden — a concept that considerably overstates the significance of 1 tight finish whereas dramatically underestimating how a lot 31 NFL fanbases have grown to hate the fucking Chiefs. On second thought, perhaps figuring out the lore doesn’t assist.
And so it involves move that Taylor Swift and her squirle-loving boyfriend are set as much as play a significant function within the 2024 election — whether or not they wish to or not. However earlier than you pooh-pooh the stakes, think about what number of different dumb issues have probably swung elections: Jimmy Carter’s use of the phrase “malaise,” Howard Dean’s mic malfunctioning when he shouted, “Yeah!” and Richard Nixon’s sweaty choice to forgo powder throughout his first televised debate with JFK.
Elections have been determined by rather more trivial issues than Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship. And if historical past has taught us something, it’s that this specific story is prone to get an entire lot dumber earlier than it goes away.