WASHINGTON — Will she or won’t she?
President Joe Biden welcomes the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House on Friday to celebrate their Super Bowl win. But people will keep their eyes peeled to see if Taylor Swift, who is dating the team’s tight end Travis Kelce, makes it to the event.
For White House Swifties who are hoping their reigning queen of pop makes an appearance, it’s guaranteed to be “The Best Day.”
At a recent press briefing, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary did not confirm the attendance. However, she wasn’t coy about the buzz the prospect of a Swift visit had generated.
“I think the Swifties behind these double doors are hoping that Taylor Swift makes an appearance,” Jean-Pierre said with a laugh. “I can’t speak to her schedule, but I know there’s a lot of interest in this building and on campus.”
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While these celebrations of athletes are meant to be nonpolitical, politics have colored these events before.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump − and current GOP presumptive nominee − disinvited that year’s Super Bowl winners, the Philadelphia Eagles, from a victory celebration at the White House. The team refused to promise that all players will stand with hand on heart for the national anthem, as Trump had insisted.
If she were to make an appearance, some may also read more into Swift’s visit. In 2020, she endorsed the president one month before the election. So far, she has not issued a public endorsement for the 2024 presidential election.
But many believe Swift, who was Time Person of Year 2023, has the clout to change the outcomes of elections.
In a post on X, Hollywood director Rob Reiner said he would “give anything” for Swift to endorse Biden for re-election publicly. Other including, right-wing commentator Jack Posobiec questioned the Swift-Kelce pairing, insinuating their relationship was a PR-driven effort designed to boost the NFL and bolster to turn out among white liberal female voters for Biden.
Others have gone as far as to speculate that Swift is a Pentagon plant. Conspiracy theories abound.
Even Trump weighed in, saying he had done so much for her and other musicians referencing legislation he signed in 2018 meant to modernize copyright laws. He wrote “there’s no way” she could endorse Biden and be and “be disloyal to the man who made her so much money.“
Of course, Swift’s influence has been well documented. In September of 2023, Swift posted a short message on Instagram Stories, encouraging her 272 million followers to vote. According to Vote.org, more than 35,000 registrations were recorded following Swift’s post.
Earlier this year, the Chiefs secured a victory in Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers won for the third time in five years and becoming the first team to win back-to back Super Bowl championship since the New England Patriots almost two decades ago.
Swift, who attended a total of 13 (her lucky number) Chiefs games − of which the team won 10 − has earned the status of a good luck charm for the team.
The songstress, who is currently touring Europe as part of her “Eras Tour” played in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday night and is due back in Lyon, France, on Sunday. That does offer a short window to make it to the White House.
The tradition of sports teams visiting the White House dates back to at least Aug. 30, 1865, when President Andrew Johnson welcomed the Brooklyn Atlantics and Washington Nationals amateur baseball clubs, according to Thomas Nuemann of ESPN. Ulysses S. Grant played host to the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, in 1869.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were the first Super Bowl champion to visit, joining the World Series-winning Pittsburgh Pirates in a dual ceremony with Jimmy Carter in February of 1980.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @SwapnaVenugopal
