In a polarized country like the United States, the music popular – pop, rock, folk, jazz, country, rap – remains the last common language of Republicans and Democrats. The White House has therefore always been interested in its stars: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and others. Before the election of November 5thL’Express tells you, in eight episodes, the story of the unlikely couples formed by the beasts of the music scene and the presidential political animals. Very pop’n’pol duos!
EPISODE 1 – Kennedy and Sinatra: An epic bromance, a shattering breakup
EPISODE 2 – Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon: This crazy interview between the “King” and the president
EPISODE 3 – Jimmy Carter and Bob Dylan, friends for life: “Listening to his records…”
EPISODE 4 – The Surprising Story of the Song That Put Bill Clinton in the White House
EPISODE 5 – George W. Bush made a big casting mistake when he wanted to hire Sting
EPISODE 6 – Between Obama and Springsteen, the story of a friendship “born in the USA”
EPISODE 7 – Donald Trump and Kanye West united by an irresistible taste for scandal
A shadow, and the Internet goes wild. In early August, American superstar Taylor Swift posted a photo of herself on stage on Instagram. In the background, the silhouette of one of her dancers strangely recalls a political figure: Kamala Harris, vice president and last-minute replacement for President Joe Biden in the race for the White House. That’s all it takes to get Internet users excited: after months of silence on the November presidential election, Taylor Swift has finally taken a stand for the Democratic camp, using one of her cryptic messages that her fans are accustomed to. A strange time when, in the United States, an artist’s political opinions are scrutinized with as much attention as the oracles of the Pythia of Delphi.
In recent years, the pop, country and folk singer has become something of a political influencer. Last year, on her Instagram (283 million followers), a single post calling on people to register to vote was enough to get 35,000 young people to join the movement. Once mocked for her romantic ballads, the artist, now as popular as Beyoncé, has become a personality whose commitments matter. Of course, in the 2018 midterm senatorial elections, it was Republican Marsha Blackburn, a Trump supporter who made the mistake of making anti-LGBTQ statements, who won in Tennessee, while the singer openly supported her Democratic opponent. But the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives, also supported by Swift at the same time, was elected.
In 2020, it was the same again. A month before the presidential election, the singer took a stand in favor of the Biden-Harris “ticket” by posting on Instagram a photo of herself holding a tray filled with cookies in the colors of the Democratic duo’s logo. Her post was published on the day of the last debate between vice-presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Mike Pence with this caption: “I’m going to watch the debate supporting @kamalaharris and screaming at my TV.”
Unlike Biden, who is now out of the game, Swift’s magnetism continues to grow. And her fans, the “Swifties”, devoted to the extreme, are ready to follow her in all her adventures. In the political world, this loyalty is the stuff of dreams. An entire country is therefore eager to know how the megastar will vote, having, moreover, publicly criticized the Supreme Court’s repeal of the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 on several occasions.
Perfect embodiment of the Republican idea of America
There is no way to measure the real impact of her support for Joe Biden four years ago. But some are convinced that in November, during the election that promises to be close, her opinion could make the difference. The Democratic camp draws the same conclusions. As early as September 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom was full of compliments about the singer, asking her to make her voice heard before the next election. In January, the New York Times reported that the Biden team was actually considering sending the president to a concert by the singer, and several of his advisers went out of their way to get the star to publicly endorse him. None of that happened.
Republicans are also on the lookout. In June, during a meeting with members of his party in Congress, Donald Trump expressed concern about the repercussions that Taylor Swift’s support for the Democrats would have. Because in the eyes of Trump supporters, she is not a celebrity like the others. A country singer who began her career in a Deep South state, Tennessee, in a relationship with an American football star, the thirty-something blonde is the perfect embodiment of their idea of America. Donald Trump is not mistaken. At the end of August, he shamelessly posted on his social network Truth Social an image of the star made up as Uncle Sam and asking her followers to vote for him. It is a crude montage, but no lie is too big for the billionaire.
In recent months, Taylor Swift’s name has regularly come up in the campaign. In February, the singer’s presence at the Super Bowl, where she came to support her boyfriend Travis Kelce, a player for the Kansas City Chiefs, sparked a wild rumor on the Web. According to the far-right sphere, The sports competition was rigged in favor of Kelce’s team… so that the couple could announce, after the victory, their support for Joe Biden. Thus, this “publicity stunt” would have allowed, always according to thealt-rightto swing the 2024 election in favor of the incumbent president.
Widely shared on social media, this conspiracy theory forced the Pentagon to publish a denial. “To be clear, no, Taylor Swift is not part of a psychological operation conducted by the Department of Defense,” Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh sighed to Politico. “A possible Taylor Swift endorsement for Democrats is the nightmare of thealt-right and Republicans in general, notes Jeffrey Dudas, a professor of political science at the University of Connecticut. They believe his popularity would be a clear blow to Donald Trump’s campaign.”
Very cautious stars
No doubt anxious to spare the sensibilities of all her fans, the star remains silent for the moment. No photos with Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. No participation in events or speeches at the Democratic convention. In reality, America has been speculating for four years about an alliance that, apart from a photo of Swift brandishing cookies stamped “Biden 2020”, does not exist.
Two months before the presidential election, Swift’s anointing remains more than ever an object of desire, even if the public can guess which way she leans, so much has she grown in stature. The singer has been part of the landscape for a long time (her first album dates back to 2006), but “her popularity has exploded since the pandemic, which makes her the most representative person of the Biden years, whether they appear together or not,” notes Jeffrey Dudas. Performed to sold-out crowds, her last world tour, The Eras Tour, generated record profits. Named Personality of the Year by Timeshe would be, according to the magazine, the last example “of monoculture that remains in our stratified world”. And would have points in common with the Democratic president. “In the same way that Biden was elected in 2020 on the promise of reconciling America, Taylor Swift leads a unifying project. The difference is that he tries to do it in politics; she, through art and entertainment”, deciphers Stéphanie Burt, professor at Harvard University, at the initiative of a course on “Taylor Swift and her world”.
As a savvy businesswoman, would Taylor Swift avoid betting on the wrong horse? “There is a change in mentality in show business,” analyzes Simone Driessen, from Erasmus University in Rotterdam. “When Barack Obama campaigned in 2008 and 2012, several stars showed their support very early on, from Lady Gaga to Beyoncé. The phenomenon was repeated with Hillary Clinton. Today, artists are more silent.” It must be said that in the United States, certain political positions can be costly. In the early 2000s, the country singers of the Dixie Chicks paid with their careers for their opposition to the war in Iraq. Taylor Swift, whose artistic roots are in Nashville (Tennessee) and who collaborated with this 100% female group, saw the damage caused up close. Perhaps she has learned her lesson. Unless, as in 2020, she waits until the final stretch to say who, Trump or Harris, she would prefer to see in the White House.
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