One might think that nothing could surprise us anymore in American politics, but then something inconceivably absurd always happens. For example, this past week, far-right media, which stands behind and beside DONALD TRUMP, found an enemy in America's biggest pop star. They have launched what sources close to the former president describe as a “holy war” against TAYLOR SWIFT.

The singer is accused, among other things, of wanting to use her popularity to persuade her fans to vote for JOE BIDEN. Others go even further, calling her an agent of the Pentagon and part of an “election intervention operation,” which they believe includes manipulation of the Super Bowl. Trump himself has not publicly commented on the issue, but according to Rolling Stone sources, he claimed in private conversations that he is "more popular" than Swift and has more committed fans than the singer.

Swift, meanwhile, has not spoken out on public affairs in recent weeks, and has had enough trouble with deepfake pornographic images of herself that flooded social media last week. However, her high-profile relationship with Travis Kelce, a player for American football, has dominated American media for months, causing increasing unease in the Republican Party's orbit. Kelce, moreover, has already been a thorn in the side of conspiracy-theory-believing Trumpists, having committed two main sins:

* First, last year he posted an advertisement on Instagram in collaboration with Pfizer, encouraging people to get the Covid-19 booster and influenza vaccination (the American far-right notoriously opposes vaccinations).
* Secondly, his participation in a Bud Light commercial angered so-called conservatives because the brand is on the far-right's hit list ever since its marketing campaign featured transgender social media star, DYLAN MULVANEY.

IS TAYLOR SWIFT THE BALANCING FACTOR?

It's clear that American public life is even more extremely divisive and hysterical than in Hungary, and at first glance, it doesn't make much sense why one side would attack America's sweetheart before the elections. For a while now, Taylor Swift has undeniably been the biggest pop star of our time:

"Still possessing the fanatical, internet-savvy fan base essential for such success, she has also worked hard to be accepted by older, perhaps more sensitive music listeners in recent years. Not only does Swift use social media more successfully than anyone else and adapt well to changes, but she has been able to remain relevant to the youngest as well as the aging fans over more than a decade," we wrote about her in 2022, and that has only intensified. Swift has broken nearly every existing chart record in recent years, and any event connected to her becomes an event. Swift's fans, dubbed Swifties, are also a sizable group from an electoral standpoint, with a 2023 survey finding that 53% of adult Americans consider themselves fans of Swift a figure that Biden and Trump can only dream about.

Another, even more recent survey suggests that Swift could seriously influence the election, as 18% of respondents said they would be very likely to vote for a candidate she supports, and 45% considered themselves to be fans of the singer. The survey also showed that Swift's support would significantly attract young voters.

FROM A DETESTABLE NAZI BARBIE TO A LIBERAL ICON

Swift may irritate some by not being openly affiliated with either side for a long time, culturally connecting more to rural, conservative America and the country music she was associated with, starting her career from the stronghold of country music, Nashville. During the first decade of her career, she also refrained from political statements, and though it may sound funny today, a decade ago there were articles speculating whether Swift was advocating white supremacy and some wrote about how the singer had become the darling of then-called alt-right neo-Nazis. The provocative feminist author CAMILLE PAGLIA even called Swift a "detestable Nazi Barbie," whose "glittering personality frighteningly evoked the fascist blondes who ruled society in my youth."

Since then, a lot of time has passed, and Swift has come out of her ivory tower, speaking publicly against issues such as racism, persecution of gays, and police brutality, as well as making direct political statements. In the 2018 Senate race in Tennessee, she supported the Democratic candidate and in the 2020 general election, she supported Biden. In her 2020 documentary Miss Americana, she expressed regret for not taking a stand against Trump in 2016.

Since then, the tone against the singer in the far-right media has changed, but it took her getting together with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end to become a public enemy. Swift and Kelce together connect audience segments that yield incredible numbers: when Swift attended the Chiefs and Chicago Bears game in September last year, Fox Sports had the highest viewership of the week with 24.3 million people, partly thanks to a strong female audience. And whenever the singer is in the stands, cameras continuously monitor her every move, often turning it into news.

CONSPIRACY AT THE SUPER BOWL!

The real audacity, however, was that the Chiefs made it to the finals of the Super Bowl in January (where they face the San Francisco team, labeled as "liberal"). This was the point when social media was flooded with conspiracy theories:

"I have never been more convinced that the Super Bowl is rigged," posted JACK LOMBARDI, a far-right influencer. "With the unnecessary and unwanted Taylor-coverage during games, KC's path to the Super Bowl is running totally according to the script. Next: Travis and Taylor together at the Super Bowl, appearing happy and in love. Then KC wins. And later they announce their support for Biden," he wrote. He later suggested that Swift and Kelce's relationship has only one purpose: to manipulate American women.

JACK POSOBIEC, known for spreading numerous infamous conspiracy theories, whether about the PizzaGate or the Great Replacement, did not disappoint either:

"They're preparing an operation to use Taylor Swift against everything in the elections: against Trump, for Biden, they will get her, and make voters out of everyone who identifies as a swiftie, just watch!"

Even FOX host JESSE WATTERS went further, calling Swift's public activities a Pentagon psychological warfare operation, referring to a presentation by a Johns Hopkins University researcher discussing Swift's effective online presence which could be used against misinformation overlooking that the researcher has no affiliation with the Pentagon or the U.S. government.

ARE REPUBLICANS AFRAID OF KINDNESS?

Yet, a recent New York Times article extensively outlines Biden's re-election strategy, suggesting Swift is a key target for the Democrats. But nothing so far substantiates that Swift, other than her sympathies, has any affiliations with the Democratic Party, let alone that her relationship with Kelce is part of a cunning political play. It's hard to believe that this witch hunt would persuade masses of undecided voters.

"A whopping 43,000 likes have been counted on a Twitter post criticizing the politicization of this issue. Some Republican politicians also countered the wave:

"I can't believe we're politicizing this. Most Americans are exhausted by pervasive partisan politics (they hate it when the left does it and I'm sure they'll hate it when the right does too). The election is crappy enough without inventing more nonsense to argue over. Let Travis and Taylor do their thing. Root for your team. Enjoy the football. Listen to your music. Let's take a deep breath and relax," wrote SPENCER COX, Republican Governor of Utah.