‘Bad Blood’: Republican, independent support for Taylor Swift drops following Kamala endorsement

Taylor Swift’s endorsement era continued its noticeable impact on her brand as Republicans weren’t the only ones steering clear of the “Blank Space” singer.

In the weeks following what many considered Vice President Kamala Harris’ coup against President Joe Biden to supplant him as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, talking heads were champing at the bit for some star-studded support to their gaslighting.

Namely, with women voters being a key focus for the left, locking in Swifties remained a constant subject until the pop star had signaled her support for Harris following the debate against former President Donald Trump.

As the GOP leader had warned the next day, that endorsement came with a price as, according to a recent NBC News poll, the meager boon among Democratic voters was far outweighed by the loss of support among Republicans and independents.

Compared to a survey conducted in Nov. 2023, Swift’s support on the right fell off a cliff as those who held a negative opinion of her dropped from 26% to 47%. Additionally, positive attitudes plummeted from 28% in 2023 to a mere 12% among GOP voters.

While positive views ticked up slightly for the left, climbing 5% from the 53% Swift had held last year, independent voters found themselves put off by the Democrat-supporting diva as well.

Having held a 34% positive score in 2023, Swift’s sway among independents dropped to 26% in the recent survey.

Overall, this meant her favorability had dropped from 40% to 33% and those with negative feelings had climbed from 16% to 27% in less than a year’s time.

Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who worked alongside Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, told NBC News the results were, “A good lesson that it’s better to be a tortured poet than a tortured figure in the political arena.”

The latest numbers were consistent with the results of a poll conducted in the days after Swift’s endorsement by The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College that found the entertainer, who’d dominated coverage of the 2023-2024 NFL season for her sideline support of her tight end boyfriend Travis Kelce, actually had a lower favorability rating than Trump.

Compared to the president’s 47%, Swift had garnered 44% while their unfavorable views were 51% and 34% respectively.

In her endorsement, Swift had attempted to take a potshot at Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance when she signed off as “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady,” while she signaled that her chief reasons for backing Harris involved the very culture war issues that had sparked GOP voters to boycott corporations to the tune of billions.

Joining Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” the morning after the debate, Trump spoke to the endorsement that followed the 2020 backing of Biden and said, “She’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”

Kevin Haggerty

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