Is Taylor Coming? Save Me a Seat!

Like me, you may not be a sports fan. Like me, you’d probably rather go bowling than watch any NFL game. But believe me, there’s no way I’ll miss this year’s Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Because it promises to be a spectacle like the world’s never seen before.

Haven’t you heard? Taylor Swift will be in the stands. Her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, will be on the field. At halftime, Taylor will come onto the field and plant a French kiss on Travis, whereupon the two of them will join hands and pledge their undying love for – Joe Biden! At which point the skies will open, a chorus of angels will sing “Hallelujah,” and a booming voice will say “I’m Jesus Christ, and I approve this message!”

Ha! You think I’m making this up? I wish I were. But that’s exactly the zany, idiotic conspiracy theory being spread today by Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters. Deathly afraid that the world’s most popular, and most talented, entertainer might endorse Joe Biden again, as she did in 2020, they’re doing everything they can to destroy her reputation, as well as any reputation the NFL may have left.

Wacky right-wingers, who still believe the 2020 presidential election was fixed, now claim the NFL and the Democratic Party have conspired together in a psychological operation to fix the Super Bowl, guarantee a Chiefs victory, and thereby enable Swift and Kelce to turn the entire event, before 65,000 fans at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium, into a massive Biden campaign rally. Taylor Swift paranoia is flooding right-wing social media, cable news and talk radio.

“I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month,” failed presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy wrote on social media this week. “And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall.”

“The NFL is totally RIGGED for the Kansas City Chiefs, Taylor Swift, and Mr. Pfizer (Travis Kelce),” charged Mike Crispi, a Salem Radio talkshow host. “All to spread DEMOCRAT PROPAGANDA.”

On Fox News, Jesse Watters accused Swift of being a “Pentagon asset.” Newsmax host Greg Kelly accused Swift fans of idolatry: “If you look it up in the Bible, it’s a sin.” One America News host Alison Steinberg suggested Swift and Kelce were plotting to brainwash teenagers into thinking about sports when their focus should be on Jesus Christ.

Fox News hosts have even called Taylor Swift a hypocrite for warning about “climate change,” yet flying on a private plane -- even though they’ve never had any problem with Donald Trump’s private plane, nor ever cared about climate change before.

The world has gone nuts! Or at least a good part of it has. Which should come as no surprise from today’s MAGA crowd. They not only still believe Donald Trump won the last election, most of them still think Jan. 6 was a false-flag operation, many believe actor Arthur Roberts has been acting as Joe Biden’s body double for several years, and they all believe in the nuttiest conspiracy of all: that Donald Trump is presidential material.

Breaking news! Taylor Swift will not endorse Joe Biden at the Super Bowl. But it would be no big surprise if she does so eventually. After all, she endorsed Biden in 2020, while accusing Trump of “stoking the fires of white supremacy” after the George Floyd murder. After Jan. 6 and the E. Jean Carroll trial, she’s hardly going to change her political stripes.

Trumpers would be smart to just ignore Swift’s politics, but they just can’t help themselves. They’re so dumb they don’t realize that the more they attack Taylor Swift, the more likely she is to endorse Biden. And if she does, it could make a big difference.

Swift has 279 million followers on Instagram. Just by showing up at games, she’s pushed NFL viewership to record highs. Travis Kelce jersey sales are up 400%. Seats for this year’s Super Bowl are selling for $10,000. And last year, when she posted a link encouraging followers to register to vote, 35,000 young people immediately signed up. When Taylor Swift speaks, fans listen.

Wouldn’t that be the ultimate irony: that the 2024 rematch between two 80-year-olds that nobody wanted be decided by a 34 year-old superstar? What a Super Bowl finale to a crazy political season. In the end, Taylor Swift may save the day. God bless America!

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(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod.)