The night of the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, pop star Taylor Swift decided to use her platform to endorse the Democratic nominee. But as some have pointed out, it did not seem to have the impact the Left thought it would.
The singer, widely known for her catchy tunes about breakups and poor life decisions, wrote, “Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most.”
As part of the multi-paragraph post, Swift officially announced, “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election”—a decision she said she made in light of Harris being a “steady-handed, gifted leader” and Walz “standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body.”
And yet, as a recent YouGov poll revealed, that did not appear to sway the minds and hearts of very many. In fact, Swift encouraged her Instagram followers to do their own research and make their own choices, and it seems they are doing just that—independent of Swift’s opinion, for that matter.
According to the survey, which polled 1,120 potential voters Sept. 11-12, 66% of the respondents felt Swift’s public endorsement made no difference in how they would vote. Eight percent—made up of females registered as Democrats—said it made them “somewhat” or “much more likely” to vote for Harris. But notably, 20% said Swift’s post made them “somewhat” or “much less likely” to cast a vote for the Democrat.
Additionally, a plurality of those polled, 41%, said Swift should “not speak publicly about politics,” as opposed to the 38% who said she should, and 21% who were unsure. Very few felt Swift’s endorsement would have a negative effect on the Harris campaign, while the majority, 32%, believed it would have a positive impact. And this was true despite the fact that 66% of those surveyed did not consider themselves fans of the singer.
A similar story unfolded in 2018 when Swift decided to endorse Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) opponent, Phil Bredesen, the former governor of Tennessee. The performer reportedly had been “reluctant” to engage in the political arena earlier in her career, but noted that at the time, “due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now.” However, similar to her recent endorsement, it had very little impact, with only 11.7% of surveyed voters saying it “made them more likely to vote for Bredesen.” Blackburn ended up winning that Tennessee election, 54.7% to 43.9%.
Experts at that time noted that “celebrities don’t really have these huge overall game-changing effects” in terms of elections, and “we shouldn’t expect them to.” But that hasn’t stopped Americans from speaking their minds.
Outside of the YouGov survey and inside the world of social media, one user posted, “If you’re old enough to vote, a celebrity endorsement shouldn’t have any effect. Voters need to look at issues not multimillionaires with no world experiences.”
In some cases, moms have posted videos about selling their Taylor Swift concert tickets originally intended for their daughters. And several others have hopped on the “I hate Taylor Swift” trend on X, in which users have been sharing their grievances with both the singer’s announcement and her music at large—a movement being countered by the “I love Taylor Swift” crowd.
The Family Research Council’s Joseph Backholm shared with The Washington Stand not merely what Swift’s endorsement or the resulting poll data means, but what Christians specifically can take away from current events. First, he stated, “Celebrities have the same right to speak their mind as everyone else.” And given America’s First Amendment rights, “no one should feel like they aren’t free to say what they think.”
And while there’s “a lot of evidence [celebrities] don’t make a meaningful difference” in elections, “it’s the most natural thing in the world to be influenced by the people around us,” he pointed out, and it’s “probably unavoidable.” It’s not our responsibility to stop celebrities from sharing their opinions, Backholm said, but “the trick is being aware of who is influencing us and the direction they’re pulling us in.”
For believers, Backholm emphasized, “A key to the Christian life is knowing what voices we should listen to and what voices we [should] ignore,” because “the fact that there will be voices is just a reality of life.” As humans, “We tend to listen to the people we admire or want to be admired by,” which means “we have to make sure the people we esteem are worthy of it in a biblical sense.”
“In voting,” he continued, “as in every decision in life, we should be most interested in God’s opinion” above all else. Because even though “He doesn’t formally make endorsements, He has given us instructions about how to evaluate leadership and the kinds of character traits we should value.” Ultimately, “Scripture also helps us understand what choices will bring blessing, security, and prosperity and what kind of choices will lead to pain.”
“Unless we are more concerned with God’s opinion than the opinion of a celebrity or our social circle,” Backholm concluded, “we will be easily deceived and manipulated.”
Originally published by The Washington Stand
