Is Taylor Swift taking over the world or just taking over the #2024 Election? The media and the suspicious are both whistling a strange tune and we are Resolute.

“But You Just Said … !”

If our Bananas Republic had a soundtrack, it’d be written and performed by Taylor Swift. This week, as we reported, the New York Times had a lengthy article explaining how the Biden campaign wanted to team with the pop superstar … an open and vocal liberal … to boost Democrat fortunes in 2024. To which a slew of conservative voices agreed, saying, “Yeah, the Deep State and media have been pumping up Swift in order to boost Democratic fortunes.” To which, the establishment media in perfect harmony shouted “Crazy Conspiracy Theorists!” But wait, didn’t you just tell us … ?

This is amazing. Dude’s a journalist with 300k followers on and has never heard of the Babylon Bee https://t.co/tDnGEUpwhH

— NTB Takes (@NTBTakes) February 1, 2024

Agree with the media and they still raise a huge fuss? The unison outcry strongly suggests the media got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Their snide and snarky comments about “far right” and “MAGA” and “tin foil” dovetails perfectly with the theme of Trump supporters being radical dangerous crazies, is all too convenient. 

And what’s so tin foil anyway?

The idea that the “Deep State” would secretly utilize a musical celebrity for public manipulation is nothing new. For six years now, I’ve been shouting about the CIA enlisting Moby to spread the false word that the Steele Dossier was “100% legit.” Check Out “Moby, the CIA and the Uncomfortable Questions.”

Nobody paid attention. Perhaps had he been dating Taylor Swift … .

But Let’s Take a Step Back, or Should I Say “Moonwalk”?

Though the saturation coverage of Taylor Swift, the woke NFL’s adoption of the singer as its unofficial mascot this year, to say nothing of her sudden romance with the knee-taking, jab-pushing Chief’s star Travis Kelsey, do smell of astroturf, we do have to take a step back.

The Federalist, no friend to Biden, declared yesterday, “Stop trying to make Taylor Swift is a Psyop Happen.”

Besides, what’s the big deal? Democrats using pop stars as campaign foils is nothing new. Bruce Springsteen, arguably the most respected artist of his generation, was enlisted by John Kerry and Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton in 2016 brought in Jay Z, Beyonce and a slew of other stars trying to make up for her own lack of juice. Given his lack of appeal and dropping fortunes, why wouldn’t Biden want Taylor Swift. Or as he calls her, “Britney Spears”?

One reason for the suspicion over Swift is that with the election gearing up, the pop star has suddenly blown up to become the most famous entertainer in the world. You go through a check-out line lately? The sudden cultural saturation seems over the top for someone who, by pop standards, has been around forever. Bigger star, bigger election impact. 

Yet, in fairness, we have seen pop stars suddenly turn from a music phenomenon to a cultural juggernaut. Think Michael Jackson. Like Swift, Jackson had been a music superstar since he was a kid. (Swift was about 13 when she started kicking it in country music.) Like Swift, Jackson suddenly rocketed to a new level of fame touched by a very elite few.

In Jackson’s case, he was launched by his still stunning physics-defying performance of “Billy Jean” at the Motown 25^th Anniversary Special. The next morning, it was all America was talking about. “Did you see Michael Jackson?! He walked forward backwards!” “Huh?”

HERE IT IS. The dance break comes at 3:29.

That “Moonwalk” was like the moon landing. The cultural landscape was not the same. Jackson was suddenly everywhere. As with Swift, his every move was headline news. His dating life an obsession. “Did you see Michael Jackson brought Brooke Shields to the American Music Awards?!”

So we’ve seen a similar phenomenon before. Indeed, one politicians tried to take advantage of. Even President Ronald Reagan had Jackson over to the White House in 1984. 

However, there is one significant difference:

Swift did not have a “moment” like Jackson, or Queen at LIVE Aid or Elvis’ 1968 comeback special. She has just been on an epic extravagant tour encapsulating her career called “Eras.” A fantastic achievement, but enough of an achievement to rate the sudden saturation coverage? Every magazine? Every newscast? Every third shot at a football game? Her latest romance to be treated like Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio?

There’s reason to be cynical. And with all at stake … arguably, everything at stake … in this election cycle, we are wise to be vigilante to all manner of games and plots. Including the enhancement and enlistment of Taylor Swift and her army of mostly single women, low-information fans that Biden desperately needs.

Again, when CNN, MSNBC and the rest of the mainstream media scream “Conspiracy Theory” about something with a unison unmatched by Swift’s backup singers, history suggests a coordinated plan is being executed. How many times has yesterday’s “conspiracy theory” become tomorrow’s “yeah, it’s true, but yesterday’s news”?

Let’s Flip the Script

However, perhaps, for our sakes, we take a step back from cynicism. Instead we flip the script. Here’s a Swift idea:

The lady’s worked really hard for two decades now to master her craft and provide the public a service they clearly enjoy. And now she is enjoying the massive fruits of that labor. That’s the American dream. That’s the American story. That’s the Taylor Swift song to sing this election season.

Like many a Swift tune, it’s got an unforgettable hook, great beat and you can dance to it. 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and co-author of the counter-terrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.