‘Why are people afraid?’: Megyn Kelly shuts down Taylor Swift, Joe Biden conspiracy theory
An outlandish theory involving Taylor Swift is gaining more and more popularity - and sparking an exasperated backlash.
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US broadcaster Megyn Kelly has called out conspiracy theorists who believe Taylor Swift “holds the key” to the 2024 presidential election campaign and will influence Americans to vote for Joe Biden.
The pop star endorsed Mr Biden’s campaign in the 2020 election but is yet to endorse his current re-election bid.
That hasn’t stopped some people from spewing theories the 34-year-old singer, and her relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce, are part of a bizarre conspiracy to influence voters ahead of the November election.
Earlier this week, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy shared a post on X questioning who would win the upcoming Super Bowl - and wondering whether there would be “a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall”.
He was alluding to Swift and Kelce, whose team, the Kansas City Chiefs, will be playing in the Super Bowl.
“Just some wild speculation over here, let’s see how it ages over the next eight months,” he wrote.
I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall. Just some wild speculation over here, let’s see how it ages over the next 8 months.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 29, 2024
Speaking about the conspiracy theory on The Megyn Kelly Show, Kelly said she didn’t understand “why people are so afraid” of Swift.
“The theory goes (there will be) a Super Bowl win which will be rigged for the Kansas City Chiefs … and after they win, a Travis-Taylor kiss will happen. Post-Super Bowl, they will look at the camera and say, ‘Vote Joe Biden,’” said Kelly.
“People believe this, people on the right who I like and respect are pushing this.”
During the segment, Kelly addressed Swift’s influence after she directed her fans to vote in an Instagram story in September.
“I don’t know why people are so afraid of her. She does have power, she does have influence, she’s told people to go vote and something like 35,000 of them did.
“But registering to vote is not the same as actually voting,” she stressed.
Kelly pointed out celebrity endorsements aren’t unusual - George Clooney endorsed Hillary Clinton during her failed 2016 presidential campaign, for example - and are rarely pivotal in deciding an election.
“They don’t listen, they don’t tend to actually do it,” she explained.
“People are acting like Taylor Swift actually holds the key to the presidency.”
Kelly said Swift will likely endorse and vote for Biden, along with her football boyfriend Travis Kelce – who she noted supported Covid vaccines. But she stressed there was no reason for conservatives to be concerned.
“Why are people living in fear of this?” she questioned.
The broadcaster also admitted she was not one of the “vast majority” of people who find Swift “interesting” and shared that she was “pissed off” that the singer attended a comedy show which raised money for Palestinians.
“If she’s smart, she will stay non-political, which is better for her. She will not be the most popular person in America if she continues to antagonise half the country that votes Republican, but whatever,” Kelly warned.
‘A Pentagon asset’
It comes after Fox News host Jesse Watters suggested Swift could be “a front for a covert political agenda”.
During an on-air segment in January, Watters speculated that the Pentagon’s psychological operation unit “floated” the idea of making the singer an “asset” during a NATO meeting.
“The Pentagon psyop unit pitched NATO on turning Taylor Swift into an asset for combating misinformation online,” he claimed.
He then played a clip from a 2019 conference, which was organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence, where a presenter simply named Swift as example of an influential person.
After the segment aired, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh brushed off the claims, telling Politico “as for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off” – a reference to Swift’s 2014 hit single.
Is Taylor Swift a Pentagon PsyOp asset? pic.twitter.com/yHp8WywKh8
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) January 10, 2024
It comes after a poll, conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, showed 18 per cent of voters said they were “more likely” or “significantly likely” to vote for a candidate endorsed by Swift.
However, the data also showed 17 per cent of voters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate if they were backed by the singer.
The presidential election will be held on November 5, with former President Donald Trump the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.
Originally published as ‘Why are people afraid?’: Megyn Kelly shuts down Taylor Swift, Joe Biden conspiracy theory
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