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Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said on Thursday that she doesn't understand the "obsession" among some conservatives over singer Taylor Swift.
"Taylor Swift is allowed to have a boyfriend. Taylor Swift is a good artist," Haley said, while speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper. "I've taken my daughter to Taylor Swift concerts before. You know, to have a conspiracy theory of all of this, is bizarre."
Haley was responding to a question about the conservative criticisms and conspiracy theories surrounding Swift ahead of the November election. The global superstar's boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, has also faced attacks from right-wing figures.
The Context
Swift took the world by storm in 2023, between launching her record-breaking Eras Tour in March and being declared Time magazine's "Person of the Year" in December. But her rise to global stardom has also come with elevated criticism against the 34-year-old singer, including several conservative talking heads who have theorized that Swift's influence is a ploy by Democrats to boost President Joe Biden's reelection chances.
What We Know
Biden's campaign is rumored to be vying for Swift's endorsement before November, according to a report from The New York Times this week. The pop star backed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump in 2020 and spoke out in support of Democratic candidates in Tennessee's midterms in 2018. She's also encouraged her supporters to get active in the political system, including prompting over 35,000 of her Instagram followers to register to vote in September 2023.
Views
Conspiracies about Swift's involvement in this year's election have ranged from unfounded theories that the pop star is a Pentagon psychological operative, to her relationship with Kelce being described as "an artificially, culturally propped-up couple" by former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump's campaign also threw a jab at Swift earlier this week, with the former president's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt calling Democrats' purported efforts to gain Swift's endorsement as a "Hail Mary pass to drag Biden over the finish line."
But several Republicans have denounced such theories. Megan McCain, GOP political commentator and daughter of the late Senator John McCain, called out members of her own party in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, writing, "Whatever nutjob 'republicans' are floating ugly and insane conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift are total idiots."
"Nobody knows who she's going to endorse," Haley said during her appearance on CNN Thursday. "But I can't believe that that's overtaken our national politics."
"I mean, right now, you've got 60 percent of American families living paycheck to paycheck, we've got a border that's out of control, we've got wars happening around the world," Haley continued. "The last thing I really think we need to be worried about is who Taylor Swift is dating and what conspiracy theory is going to have her endorsing a person for president."
Newsweek has reached out to Swift's publicist via email for comment Thursday.
What's Next?
It's unclear if Swift's support, or lack thereof, is going to have much of an impact on November's election. A recent poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies exclusively for Newsweek found that 18 percent of voters are "more likely" or "significantly more likely" to vote for a candidate who is backed by Swift. That number could potentially play a role in what is set up to be a tightly contested race between Trump and Biden, the current front-runners of their respective parties.
"In today's world, clickbait rules the day and everything is politicized, which explains why Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce are making waves related to the 2024 presidential election," Evan Nierman, CEO of global PR firm Red Banyan, previously told Newsweek.
Update 2/1/24, 5:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.
About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more