Tag: Taylor Swift

For a manic stretch of 2012, we all believed seriatim that Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain were the likeliest Republican nominee. And if you were honest about it, you’d admit that the media itself drove much of this process. We got interested in a candidate and inflated their prominence; then challenged them more aggressively and dug hard into their record; then moved on to the next one. Those were the 10 presidential campaigns, give or take, dominated by what that era called the mainstream media. And one of the reasons the political press got Trump so wrong is that his campaign didn’t work like that. When we saw his early polls, we thought he was the flavor of the month. His support didn’t rise and fall. But it seems to be a defining feature of the new movement politics. This is a snowball, not a narrative. Well, it could mean that the theory motivating most of the 20-plus candidates — that they should make their cases and wait for their turns in the sun of public attention — is just wrong.

Following Grammy winning musician Taylor Swift's pledge to use her influence to speak out against "disgusting rhetoric" in politics, co-hosts on "The View" weigh in on the pressure artists experience to be politically active. Huntsman went on to say why the position celebrities are in is a catch 22. "If they don't speak, they don't care about it and then when they do speak, [they] are alienating half of [their] followers." It was what you did," Behar continued. McCain pointed out that everyday, she and her co-hosts "divide people." "There are places and spaces you and I – all of us – we go into that… we are unwelcome for what we say ... "I couldn't even imagine not being political and not using my voice ... But I think some women aren't like the women of 'The View,' and it's ok for me." Swift, 29, told Elle now that she's turning 30 she feels "informed enough" to speak to her 114 million followers about politics. We have a big race coming up next year."

Watch here LIVE: Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn gives her victory speech after beating former Democratic Governor of Tennessee Phil Bredesen. Bredesen was famously endorsed by singer Taylor Swift, while Blackburn had the backing of the president. FOX News Channel (FNC) is…

Katy Perry is praising Taylor Swift for her newfound Democratic political activism, saying the “Delicate” singer is setting a “great example.” Perry, 33, was one of former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s most vocal supporters in the music industry, performing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and hitting the campaign trail with the former secretary of State. At a Thursday event in Los Angeles, Perry lauded Swift for breaking her virtual career-long silence on political issues. Earlier this month, Swift endorsed via an Instagram post former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) in his bid against Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) for the state’s open Senate seat. “In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” Swift, 28, wrote. “Of course,” Perry told reporters when asked about “liking” the Instagram post, according to Us Weekly. “She’s setting such a great example.” Swift and Perry indicated that they had squashed a long-running beef earlier this year. Perry had said last year that the feud originally stemmed from an issue over hiring back-up dancers.

Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn up double digits over Senate opponent Phil Bredesen after pop star Taylor Swift shared her support for the Democrat. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well…

But what else is happening, you ask? What Happened: It was the team-up the world was waiting for: Kanye West and President Trump had a sit-down meeting at the White House. What Really Happened: Look. The Takeaway: Really, in times like these, let’s pay attention to the true heroes. The President’s Op-Ed What Happened: When is an op-ed not an op-ed? After all, he is the president. What Really Happened: Hey, there’s a new Halloween movie out next week! Of course, the response turned into a thing by itself, because the internet. To admit that the tweet was dumb would undercut the very reason d’être of Fox News, and we can all be grateful that it didn’t back down. As it happened, Curtis herself responded to the story, saying that it’s “just silly.” The Takeaway: You know things are bad when even the dictionary gets in on the dunking.

She brushed aside previous criticism that she had been apolitical, "Due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now." Later in her post, Swift named names, saying she can't back Marsha Blackburn, the Republican who is running for US Senate because of the many anti-woman measures the Tennessee representative supports. Young Americans may feel that their vote doesn't matter, or they may not know how to register. With 62 million Millennials who are voting age, they now make up the second largest generation after Baby Boomers. To assess the potential impact of Swift's post, consider her enormous social media audience: 112 million followers on Instagram, 83.6 million followers on Twitter, and 72.6 million likes on Facebook. Her combined audience of 268.2 million is 487 percent more than President Donald Trump's 55 million followers on these three social media services. Already, President Trump has responded by saying he likes her music "25 percent less." This is no doubt an important message for young people, to speak up about your convictions, even if not everyone agrees. By sharing her personal and political views, not only has Swift activated her sizable fanbase but she has also earned the respect of millions of Americans who have watched aghast at recent political events. With just one post, she has notified the world that the old apolitical Taylor Swift can't come to the phone right now.

Taylor Swift is not, necessarily, about to swing the midterm elections. Nor is she exactly finding her political voice: Though her silence during the 2016 presidential election fueled intense speculation about whom she was voting for, she has commented on issues like gun violence and sexual harassment before. What the pop star has done, with a viral Instagram post on Tennessee’s upcoming election, is encourage political action in its most basic form—calling not for protest or explicitly for a takedown of the mighty, but for the modest yet incrementally powerful act of casting a ballot. And on Tuesday night, at the American Music Awards: “You know what else is voted on by the people? Get out and vote. I love you guys.” That’s not to say Swift didn’t take a clear stand with her post (she condemned racial and gender discrimination, and endorsed specific Democratic candidates in Tennessee) or that she can’t prompt civic engagement (though there’s no way to verify the causes of the spike, Vote.org counted 102,000 new registrations by people under 30 within the first 48 hours after Swift directed fans there). Still, the statement the musician has made is strikingly simple for all the hubbub around it. These responses—the breathless, the skeptical, the exasperated—are perhaps best understood as responses to Swift herself: a star whose public image has always been as fraught as it is polished. “In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions,” she explained, “but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now.” Yet this very statement is a deployment of her image—of the woman fans adore and want to emulate; of her own past silence, which amplifies her current message. She has opinions, just like you, and she’s asking you to vote.

When Taylor Swift broke her long political silence with a Sunday night Instagram post endorsing Democratic candidates in Tennessee, the timing wasn’t just about the looming midterm elections. Tuesday night’s American Music Awards opened with Swift’s first live TV performance since her appearances on S.N.L. and The Tonight Show late last year, and conspiracy theories flowed that Swift had planned the whole thing so that her performance of “I Did Something Bad” would be a direct rebuke to Trump, who had, inevitably, already responded to her endorsements. She won four awards throughout the night, and only with the final speech, for Artist of the Year, did she get remotely political: “This award and every single award given out tonight were voted on by the people. Do you know what else is voted on by the people? Get out and vote. I love you guys.” So no digs at Trump, and no further endorsements of Democrats in Tennessee or otherwise. But Swift was zeroing in on a message that’s been proven to work; Vote.org reported on Tuesday that there had been a measurable boost in new-voter registration during the 24-hour period after Swift’s Instagram post. Watch Now: Bob Iger Discusses Sneaking in to Watch “Black Panther” and Moving Beyond Partisan Politics To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that There’s no telling whether Swift is aware of the impact she had, or if she stuck with a bipartisan message after some backlash from her conservative fans. It’s possible that Sunday’s Instagram post will be the first and only time we ever see Swift get explicitly political.

The 28-year-old star—who switched out of her red carpet look, which featured a silver mirrored mini dress with matching thigh-high boots, for a sparkly black-and-red bodysuit—was joined by more than a dozen dancers for her performance while a large snake hovered behind her. Moments after her opening number, Swift, who is nominated for four AMAs, returned to the stage to accept the "Tour of the Year" award. Later in the show, the singer, who took the stage once more after winning best pop/rock album for her album "Reputation," left fans wondering after she teased that she is "even more excited about the next chapter." "Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me." Swift said the congresswoman "voted against equal pay for women. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry." "These are not MY Tennessee values," the "Fearless" singer added, noting that she will be voting for Democrat Phil Bredesen for the Senate, and also for Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat who's running for re-election. Following Swift's rare political statement, new voter registration surged, according to data obtained by Fox News from Vote.org, which showed that new voter registration spiked both nationwide and in the star's home state of Tennessee. Kamari Guthrie, the director of communications for Vote.org, told BuzzFeed News that the organization was “up to 65,000 registrations in a single 24-hour period” since Swift’s post.