MAGA's War On Taylor Swift Is Stupid
Taylor derangement syndrome spreads like wildfire
Taylor Swift recently became the first solo musician to be named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year after reaching several milestones throughout the year. Ms. Swift’s great year included her becoming a billionaire, releasing the fastest-selling album of the year coupled with a record-breaking concert film, and making Grammy Awards history by being nominated seven times for Song of the Year, the only person to do so. Her Eras Tour, where she performed worldwide, often for over three hours at a time, earned more than 1 billion dollars and is credited by the Federal Reserve as potentially having helped the U.S. economy avoid recession.
Ms. Swift one of is the most gifted and impactful songwriters and performers of our generation. Her high-level writing, singing, and performing skills, alongside her tenacity, showcase her brilliance in a challenging music industry. But there is a belief in MAGA-land, that such plaudits and attention being focused on Ms. Swift is unnatural and a part of a sinister plot by the “deep state”. The fact that Ms. Swift’s appeal comes from her talent is as feasible to them as the possibility that Trump lost the election.
Last month's elections left many in the Republican Party shocked at their underperformance. One might have expected a period of self-reflection within the GOP, because, to paraphrase Ms. Swift, "It's you... you're the problem, it's you!" The Republicans' stance on abortion has remained out of step with the American public, and when put to the ballot for the first time post-Roe, voters punished them.
But MAGA-land, notorious for their disbelief in elections and their outcomes, seems to believe that this electoral defeat was the result of Swift-induced meddling. On election day, Ms. Swift encouraged her loyal fans, the “Swifties”, to vote in their state elections posting on Instagram: “Voters gonna vote!” Ms. Swift did not endorse any candidate and innocuously shared a link to Vote.org — a non-partisan website dedicated to helping citizens register.
Jack Posobiec, complained about the power of the Swifties in a post on X, kvetching about the “THE CHILDLESS, UNMARRIED ABORTION ARMY MOBILIZED BY BARBIE, TAYLOR SWIFT, AND TIKTOK THAT IS CRUSHING REPUBLICANS AT THE BALLOT BOX.” Charlie Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point USA, prophesized on his show that “Taylor Swift is going to come out in the presidential election and she is going to mobilize her fans…all the Swifties want is swift abortion. That's what they want. It's 100%.” It's hard to imagine why any newly registered Swiftie voter, especially a fan of Swift, wouldn't be eager to vote for a party whose pundits are known for this demeaning rhetoric.
MAGA-land’s suspicions, which seem to verge on the absurd, are that Taylor Swift's considerable fame and influence are all a part of a sinister plot by the Deep State. After Ms. Swift was announced as Person of the Year, Mr. Posobiec cautioned the MAGA faithful on X that “The Taylor Swift girlboss psyop has been fully activated. From her hand-selected vaccine shill boyfriend to her DINK lifestyle to her upcoming 2024 voter operation for Democrats on abortion rights. It’s all coming.” Yes even her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, is part of this “master plan” to use the Swifties to sway the outcome of the 2024 election.
Even Stephen Miller, a longtime Trump ally, eerily warned that “What’s happening with Taylor Swift is not organic.” The Trump team has substantial reasons for unease. Ms. Swift's post, which registered 35,000 new voters in a singular day, is an existential threat to their electoral prospects, especially considering that Mr. Trump is the only President in history to lose the popular vote twice.
Yet I’m left to ponder what has led so many conservatives to specifically vilify Ms. Swift in this fashion. As a conservative myself, I understand the common disdain within our ranks for the modern music industry. I see it as a catalyst for societal ills like gratuitous violence, rampant drug use, objectification of women, disdain for authority, and other degenerative behaviors.
But Ms. Swift does not champion any of these vices. She instead offers her audience, mostly comprised of young women, an inspiring American success story. In fact, given MAGA’s penchant for “draining the swamp”, they should find themselves enamored by Ms. Swift’s war against the music industry’s powerful influence.
Ms. Swift, after leaving Big Machine Records and failing to acquire the masters of her five albums recorded with them, re-recorded these albums as "Taylor's Versions." This move, which allowed Ms. Swift to own the re-recordings fully, was a strategic response to Big Machine's refusal to sell the original masters. By promoting "Taylor's Versions" as the preferred choice to her fans, Ms. Swift significantly diminished the value of the original masters in what can be best described as masterful trolling.
She took on the streaming industry, removing her entire catalog from Spotify, citing the platform's failure to fairly compensate artists and her disagreement with the devaluation of music. In 2015, she confronted Apple Music for not paying artists during their three-month free trial, leading to a next-day policy change after she threatened to withhold her album “1989” from the service. By 2017, Swift's music returned to Spotify after she induced them into adding new-release window that improved revenue for artists.
The reason Ms. Swift is so influential with the Swifties stems from her crafting music that resonates personally with them, offering a glimpse into her life and inviting them to join her on this journey. Do the MAGA faithful not boast the same loyalty to Mr. Trump for similar reasons? Is his appeal to them not based on the fact he “tells it like it is” and “fights for you?”
Arriving at MAGA’s conclusion that Ms. Swift is somehow a secret deep-state operative requires fluency in stupidity. Ms. Swift has remained relatively apolitical, with limited endorsements of Democratic candidates in the state of Tennessee during the 2018 elections and more pronounced support for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race. However, if she were to enter politics, it's easy to see why they’d view her as a formidable threat.
Ms. Swift is a self-made billionaire, a testament to her unwavering belief in herself and the fruits of her labor. As a proven business negotiator, she has repeatedly challenged the formidable entities within the music industry. These are traits that normally right-wingers view favorably, its almost the bare minimum on the resume for any Republican presidential contender. Hence, I ask these “conservatives”: where does this anger from?
However, it would be prudent for the Deep State, with its frequently cited nexus of influence, to force Democrats to abandon Biden for a more viable solution. Ms. Swift turns 35 just one month before Inauguration Day — the timing would be opportune. They would have ample time to replace President Joe Biden with Taylor Swift at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. The subsequent Swiftie-induced electoral landslide would be an entertaining spectacle for the ages.
But this is just fantasy. And any fears of this becoming reality are as irrational as a fear of flying sharks. It might be inconceivable to those who are obsessed with toxic politics and unable to view anything outside of its lens, the truth remains that Ms. Swift is just a billionaire, songwriter, and singer. And quite a good one at that.