Rantz: Did the Taylor Swift endorsement backfire for Kamala Harris?

The Taylor Swift endorsement of Kamala Harris for president may have backfired.

The singer who built her career on songs about her catastrophically poor judgment is at it again — this time by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. But it’s not getting the initial reaction she had hoped for.

While it supposedly generated a ton of new voter registrations, a new ABC/Ipsos poll reveals only 6 percent of voters said the endorsement made them more likely to support Kamala Harris. In fact, 13 percent said it made them less likely to support Harris over Donald Trump. If these numbers are an accurate depiction of the electorate, this can be the difference between a win and loss in a tight election.

But most importantly? Some 81 percent said Swift’s support makes no difference at all. This is how it should be.

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Should we care who celebrities want us to vote for?

Celebrity endorsements are laughably shallow, yet some people still fall for them. The idea that a pop star, actor or athlete—whose main qualification is looking good on camera or running fast—should influence your political choices is absurd.

They prey on the gullibility of young people who mistake fame for expertise. Just because some celebrity can land a high note or cry on demand doesn’t mean they understand complex issues like crime or international policy.

Spoiler: most of them don’t. It’s why they rarely spend time making their case.

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Celebrities rarely defend their positions. So who cares about the Taylor Swift endorsement?

Why don’t we ever see in-depth interviews with loudmouth celebrities bashing Trump and Republicans or pushing whatever political cause they back? Because they can’t argue their points.

Actors and musicians only talk to dimwitted entertainment reporters who are experts on celebrity break ups, not domestic politics. Athletes speak with jaded sports journalists who ask remarkably dumb questions (“How did tonight’s loss make you feel?”), but won’t challenge their positions for fear of losing access.

It would be one thing if any of these celebrities actually made a coherent argument in favor of their candidate or cause. Solid arguments, no matter the source, are worth considering. We’d all be better off listening to interesting takes and considering them as we either strengthen our positions or, perhaps, shift to something that makes more sense.

But is that what celebrities are doing? No.

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As much insight as a fortune cookie

Celebrities don’t provide good arguments. They offer vacuous Instagram notes or bumper sticker X posts that offer as much depth and insight as a fortune cookie. At least the fortune cookie is generally positive.

Mark Ruffalo, an antisemitic clown, lectures us on Israel? Spare me.

Richard Sherman, who pleaded guilty to DUI and domestic disturbance, wants to talk about police reform? Hard pass.

Mark Hamill hates Trump, so we should too? The guy couldn’t even figure out Darth Vader was his dad for three whole movies!

This isn’t just a Democrat criticism. We shouldn’t care when a celebrity endorses Trump, either. Kid Rock’s political positions aren’t meaningful to me.

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Hard pass on celebrity endorsements

Performer and producer Pharrell Williams said it best last week to The Hollywood Reporter: “I don’t do politics. I get annoyed when I see celebrities telling you (who to vote for).”

If he’s talking about hot producers or which musicians to listen to, sure, that’s his expertise. That’s what he does for a living and he’s very good at it. We should consider. Politics? Not so much.

Taylor Swift has gone through as many boyfriends as Kamala has gone through staff members as vice president. Both have turnover rates that should make us question their character, not the people who run away from them.

Luckily, for now at least, people are running away from Taylor Swift’s endorsement.

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