Taylor Swift, the superstar with super-scrutinized support from the Biden camp

The American singer now enjoys extraordinary popularity in the United States. As the US presidential election approaches, Democrats hope to see her support current President Joe Biden, for whom she voted in 2020.

Pop superstar, youth idol, and soon to be campaign icon? The influence of the singer Taylor Swift is at the heart of all desires for the 2024 American presidential election. The 34-year-old artist, personality of the year according to the magazine Timeis at the top of his game, breaking absolutely all records.

One example among many: his “Eras Tour” exceeded the symbolic threshold of a billion dollars in revenue over 60 dates in 2023, an amount never seen before in the history of music. Hailing from the rural state of Tennessee, Taylor Swift began her journey in country music, a genre particularly beloved by conservatives.

Support hoped for by the Democrats

According to a survey published Tuesday, December 19 by the Marist Institute, the artist behind hits like Shake It Off or Bad Blood, is credited with 70% favorable opinions among Americans. A figure that Joe Biden, for whom she voted in 2020, can only dream of for himself: the Democrat’s popularity rating, in decline since the start of his mandate, now stands at just under 40%. favorable opinions according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight.

Could Taylor Swift revive Joe Biden by calling to support him in 2024? The presidential candidate’s campaign team is sure of it. “Please don’t tell us we need a Taylor Swift strategy. We’re following the file”an executive from Biden’s team had fun on Wednesday December, sharing a job description for the campaign.

But is this support so easy to obtain? The singer was widely criticized by Democrats for not openly supporting Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump in 2016. After years of caution, the singer came out of the woodwork for the first time in 2018, sponsoring a Democrat in her native state. of Tennessee.

Popular among young women who can vote

In 2020, Taylor Swift officially announced her support for Joe Biden against President Donald Trump, accusing the Republican of having “fanned the flames of white supremacism and racism throughout (her) mandate”. The exact impact this support had on the Democrat’s victory is difficult to quantify. But the artist has, since the last election, accessed a new status. Taylor Swift “was popular in 2020, but its popularity (…) has gone to another level”explains Matthew Harris, professor of political science at Park University.

The star is very popular among young women of voting age. Joe Biden is counting heavily on this electorate, which brought him to power in 2020, to get re-elected. But the polls are not good for the Democrat among young people, particularly since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Many criticize his administration’s too strong support for the Israeli ally.

And according to a survey published at the beginning of December by a Harvard institute, the number of young people questioned planning “certainly” to vote for the next presidential election fell to 49%, compared to 57% in the fall of 2019. The participation rate in general, and that of young people in particular, will be one of the keys to the next presidential election.

A mobilizing word

And for Matthew Harris, it is surely in this area that Taylor Swift could have the most impact. “I don’t think people say ‘Oh ! Taylor Swift supports Joe Biden, so I’m going to vote for him,'” he explains. The most important thing will be “its ability to mobilize people, to encourage them to register to vote”because “These are people who are already predisposed to vote for Joe Biden.”

Especially since the “Swifties”, the name given to the singer’s fans, live mainly in residential suburbs, adds the political scientist, areas which “tilt the American political balance.” Taylor Swift published a message on Instagram in September inviting her 272 million subscribers to use the Vote.org platform to register to vote. Result ? The organization recorded more than 35,000 new registrations that day, a jump of 23% compared to the same day a year earlier, and further proof of the singer’s influence.

(…) During #NVRD day, we saw a 1226% jump in participation in the hour following the publication of Taylor Swift’s message (…)

The superstar could also encourage mobilization through his positions, particularly on abortion. When the Supreme Court annulled the constitutional guarantee of the right to abortion in 2022, the artist said he was “terrified” that the right of women to control their own bodies is taken away from them, a fight that is close to Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s vice-president. But for the latter to gain the singer’s support, perhaps the president would no longer have to confuse her with Britney Spears, as he did in November…