Former President Donald Trump summed up his feelings for superstar singer Taylor Swift in just four words: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
Those were the words posted on Truth Social by the Republican nominee for president on Sunday.
And those words promped speculation of how Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris could affect the race for the White House.
On one side, Democrats said coming out so vehemently against Swift would ultimately hurt Trump.
Just how Swift could affect the race is not clear.
In the 24 hours after Swift endorsed Harris, more than 400,000 people went to vote.gov, a website that directed people to register to vote. Which candidate those people are supporting is not known, The Hill reported.
“The hidden power of her endorsement is that she provided basic voter education in both her call to action to register to vote and her encouragement to research the candidates and make informed decisions which are both critical steps to preparing to vote and may not be that obvious to young voters who are new voters,” Carolyn DeWitt, president and executive director of Rock the Vote, said.
Swift announced her endorsement of Harris after last Tuesday’s debate between Trump and Harris.
Swift said Harris “is a steady-handed, gifted leader” and she believes “we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
There’s no doubt what Swift said increased interest in the race, but it is not clear who will actually benefit.
According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Monday, 6% of voters said Swift’s endorsement for Harris has enticed them to support the Democratic candidate.
Just 13% said they were less likely to support Harris and a whopping 81% said who she backs makes no difference to them, according to the poll.
But women’s rights issues have received a boost following the endorsement with a 100% increase in engagement and a 150% increase in democracy- related topics, according to the ad tech firm Nexxen.
“To me, this means that there’s more visibility around the campaign and people are interested,” Sham Mathis, Nexxen’s director of research insights, said. “They’re talking about it, they’re engaging with the content, and they want to know more.”
“Some of this is probably driven by Swifties but I think this is more than just the fans talking about the campaign. I think it’s also starting new conversations around the campaign.”
After Trump posted he hated Swift, Harris’ campaign used the message to its advantage, showing there is power in the endorsement as well as any feud between Trump and Swift.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), spoke out against Trump’s comments during an interview Monday with CNN.
“I was at an event last night where we were in fact talking about Taylor Swift, and I think this just piles onto the other offensive and divisive rhetoric that comes from the former president,” Houlahan said.
“I think that people here in Pennsylvania are pragmatic. We are a purple people,” she said about Pennsylvania being a swing state.
Some Republicans said a feud like this is par for the course with Trump.
“Trump has always sought-out public feuds with celebrities. … encouraging his culture war-loving supporters and offending his detractors who find it beneath the dignity of the office and reflective of a divisive, unserious leader,” GOP strategist Bruce Mehlman, a former official under President George W. Bush, said.
“A fight with Taylor Swift won’t impact how any voters see him other than first time voters likely too young in 2016 or 2020 to have paid attention and formed strong opinions,” he said.
