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When the pop star urged her fans to vote last year, it caused tens of thousands of people to register, writes Chas Newkey-Burden. In the wake of the former president’s conviction, will she use her massive influence to help tip the scales against him?
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Of the things currently keeping Donald Trump awake at night – his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records being chief among them – you wouldn’t expect a singer who found fame on America’s conservative country music scene to be particularly high on the list. But as I learned when I wrote a book about her, when it comes to Taylor Swift, the rulebook is forever being tossed out of the window.
You’ve probably already noticed that Swift’s fanbase is ridiculously large, so let’s crunch some actual numbers. A poll found that 53 per cent of Americans say they are fans, while 16 per cent identify as “avid fans”. Her “Swiftie” fanbase spans five generations and a study found that 18 per cent of American voters – that’s some 30 million adults – say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate Swift had endorsed.
Let’s be clear: the idea that a simple social media post from Taylor would swing the entire vote is exaggerated – but with the White House election just months away, and Trump on the back foot after being found guilty in his court case, the significant influence she has shown to have in politics and beyond could become a problem for the former president.
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