The President Joe Biden’s team is looking to Taylor Swift for help. It's not surprising because both Taylor Swift and her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce, have a talent for attracting attention. This has led to a conspiracy theory without them even trying.
A photo on the Twitter account @NFL_Memes claimed a link between the Super Bowl logo colors and the teams playing in the game, sparking conspiracy theories about the NFL and the “deep state”. Some right-wing conspiracy theorists are suggesting that Swift’s connection with Kelce is part of a plot to boost support for Biden in the 2024 election.
Given the less than stellar state of Biden’s campaign, the president needs all the help he can get. It's not surprising that the Biden campaign dreams of sharing in the success and good fortune of Swift and her record-breaking Eras Tour.
Having Swift’s endorsement in 2020 was beneficial for Biden. A single Instagram post from her led to 35,000 new voter registrations. Even though some old-timer football personalities see the couple’s popularity as a distraction, the NFL must be pleased with the attention and revenue that the couple has brought to the sport.
Similar to the way John F. Kennedy socialized with Hollywood stars during his presidency, today’s campaigns also seek the support of celebrities and welcome those who join. As the Biden campaign strives to maintain support from young liberals and people of color, it has started talking to celebrities and social media influencers about promoting Biden on Instagram and TikTok.
In the past, politicians relied on TV ads. Now, Biden’s campaign is using social media influencers with a large following on Instagram and TikTok.
Insiders say that Biden’s plan involves directly confronting Trump and focusing heavily on abortion rights, which can be contrasted with Trump's statements about Supreme Court justices. Democrats' success in restoring abortion rights in conservative states is encouraging for the Biden campaign, but it may not be enough to defeat Trump on its own.
Biden’s campaign believes that the more the public hears Trump boast about wanting to be “a dictator on day one,” the more voters will lean towards their side on issues like abortion and health care. However, reversing this trend won’t be easy. Trump seems to thrive off of criminal indictments.
But it’s still early in the campaign calendar and there’s still hope, according to longtime supporters. One who knows how that works is Rep. James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and key Biden ally, who was credited with Biden’s crucial turnaround in 2020. He told The New York Times that Democrats needed to make an affirmative case and remind voters of tangible changes to their lives — like capping insulin costs, infrastructure cash for roads and bridges and other important promisesBiden kept.
But those “promises kept” have not mattered enough to younger and more progressive voters who have not given the administration much credit for itsaccomplishments — or harbor, in many cases, resentment toward Team Biden’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas. Complex issues like that are not easily debated in the midst of a presidential campaign, but campaigns are, after all, a nation’s sometimes ungainly debate over issues determining its future.
Politics often look like a game, but now it’s time to get serious.
Twitter @cptime
()
