Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Can Taylor Swift have an impact on the US Presidential Elections ? (I)

The potential influence of Taylor Swift in the outcome of the election is the subject of many comments across the United States. Because the singer has already demonstrated an unsuspected political strength.

Decisive moment in the American presidential campaign. It is this Tuesday that the traditional Super Tuesday takes place, a day during which the Democratic and Republican primaries in no less than 15 states will take place. If the candidates from both camps will be determined on their fate in their race for the White House at the end of this election, there is another stage of their campaign that they are feverishly awaiting: the day when Taylor Swift, the superstar of pop, will give his voting instructions.

As surprising as it may seem, the singer's name has been on the lips of all observers for months. Most present the star as an asset to Joe Biden, whom she supported in 2020 and who is running for re-election. Conversely, she would be a stone in the shoe of Donald Tump, who is trying to regain power after his failure in 2020. The main interested party, for the moment, is not saying a word.

Because in addition to her four years spent at the top of world record sales, her title of personality of the year 2023 awarded by Time (a first for an artist) or her phenomenon tour, the Eras Tour, on the way to becoming the most lucrative story, everything suggests that Taylor Swift could influence the American vote. 

1. 2018: Taylor Swift triggers her first political earthquake

Stubbornly silent on political-societal issues since the start of her career, the superstar surprised her fans in October 2018 by breaking her silence. During the mid-term elections, and while Donald Trump occupies the Oval Office, Taylor Swift posted a long message on Instagram to vigorously criticize Marsha Blackburn, Republican candidate from Tennessee for a position in the Senate.

A voter in this southeastern state, Taylor Swift takes the opportunity to show her support for Democratic candidates, embraces her progressive sensibilities for the first time and, above all, calls on her fans to register to vote. And if Marsha Blackburn ended up winning, Taylor Swift revealed during this period a hitherto unsuspected strike force.

72 hours after the publication of the message on Instagram, the Vote.org site announced that it had recorded 250,000 new registrations on the lists, 60% of which were young people aged 18 to 29. That is more in three days than throughout the month of August (57,000 registrations) and the entire month of September (190,000), as reported by Reuters. This speech then resonates even in the corridors of the White House; Donald Trump himself weighs in, saying he likes "Taylor's music about 25% less now."

At the time, Taylor Swift had 112 million followers on Instagram. Today there are 282 million.

(to be continued)

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