It's all rigged! It's a plot!
NY Times headline: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the MAGA meltdown
Coincidence? Don't be naive.
Trump and MAGA have figured it all out.
Don't you see the pattern?
Democrats rigged it so that Taylor Swift would be Time Magazine's "person of the year" instead of Donald Trump, the obvious and rightful winner.
Plus, Joe Biden and Democrats connived so that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce would date.
And they picked Travis Kelce, not just any NFL player. Kelce did an ad for Covid vaccines and for Bud Lite. That's an obvious give-away.
They also rigged it that Kelce would receive and make spectacular catches, making him a star almost worthy of Taylor Swift.
It took some doing, but Democrats arranged that heartland Kansas City would go 11-6 to get into the Super Bowl. They have rigged it so that the Chiefs will beat the liberal-city San Francisco 49ers when they play. Democrats are re-positioning themselves toward the center for the general election.
Democrats rigged it that game cameras would repeatedly cut to Taylor Swift as she watched Chief games, masterfully linking Taylor Swift, the NFL, the abortion issue, and the youth vote.
It is in service of a master plan. Isn't is obvious? The plan is that Taylor Swift would endorse Biden and swing young voters and persuadable homeland middle-America types to vote for Biden, and thereby steal the election.
Whew.
The source and impetus for the MAGA-team attack onTaylor Swift may have come from Trump's own disappointment that Swift is getting as much bright-light attention as is Trump. Maybe more. Certainly better. Who knows? Anonymous sources supposedly close to Trump say it goes back to that Time Magazine recognition. I don't know the reality of the source. I do know that Fox, Newsmax, and pro-Trump allies like Vivek Ramaswamy are on board with the attack, however it started.
I also know Trump could have shut down and reversed the Taylor-Swift-is-bad story -- and still can -- with some simple tweets or comments in a rally speech. He need only say that he thinks Taylor Swift is an extraordinary woman, a great entertainer, a great businesswoman, and an all-American star. Say he is a fan, not that he likes her 25% less than before.
The fact that he isn't doing this means he politically owns the meme.
CNBC Headline: Trump allies ramp up attack on Taylor Swift in advance of the Super Bowl
Regular readers of this blog recognize its recurring theme that political communication often backfires. The intended, denoted message is one thing, but the actual message is often the opposite. The primary, delivered-and-received message of the MAGA attack on Taylor Swift is that Trump picks utterly unnecessary fights because Trump and his allies are unhinged. "Unhinged" is a word Nikki Haley is using now.
This attack sends a message that is in perfect sync with the Democratic narrative for the 2024 election. Sure, Biden is old, Democrats concede that. They must. But Biden isn't dangerous, not in the way that Trump is dangerous. Trump is unstable and consumed by such jealousy, resentment, and insecurity that he lashes out at anything. That's the simple Democratic message: old and calm Biden versus batshit crazy Trump.
When Trump and MAGA world attacked Colin Kaepernick they chose someone easy to malign, a Black man with afro hair who took a knee in protest to injustice. It was easy to mis-characterize his action as an insult to all-American patriotism. He was an easy target.
Not Taylor Swift. Not an attractive, wildly popular, White, female country-pop crossover singer-songwriter following her heart.
I fully accept the criticism some make of this blog that I give too much attention to facile impressions instead of serious matters of policy. Yes. I consider that criticism evidence not that these impressions are unimportant, but rather than their effects are unacknowledged and therefore especially powerful. Impressions do not operate on a rational mind considering denoted content. The impressions aren't conscious. We have a gut reaction to this MAGA attack.
Trump and his allies are sending out a simple message that they are wacko.
This has been great - I have seen several maga-ish family members start to back off maga because they love Taylor Swift.
"Trump and his allies are sending out a simple message that they are wacko."
It's an honest message.
Bless their hearts.