Taylor Swift Can't Save the Democrats
Voters crave authenticity, not celebrity.
In 2014, President Obama went on Zach Galifianakis’ satirical interview show Between Two Ferns. Obama understood the internet enough to engage with a popular figure with a loyal, online following—what we might now call an influencer—not just by showing up, but by playing by their rules. Though Obama was ostensibly there to plug healthcare.gov and encourage young people to get insured, his appearance signaled a shift in media that would fully manifest in the 2024 election.
While the relationship between politics and the internet has become even more intertwined in the intervening decade, the Harris campaign’s media approach in this election seemed, at times, stuck in 2004. They expended campaign capital on reaching big-name public figures—but on celebrities, not influencers: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Oprah. Celebrities are like products, something you buy and consume. Influencers like Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper, on the other hand, aren’t products, they’re friends you’ve never met. In the age of the influencer and the parasocial relationship, celebrities’ political influence is dead.
The Harris campaign did make quite an effort with its digital media approach, but that was primarily with short-form content. But short-form content makes “knowing” someone harder. In its long-form content, the Harris campaign undermined audiences’ ability to connect with her.
Take her Call Her Daddy interview: Rather than meet on Cooper’s usual set, the Harris campaign had one specially built—for north of six figures!—and met for an untraditional 45 minutes. That is not how you do Call Her Daddy. Harris should have shown up to the studio, in her sweats, and done the show like any other guest, engaging with the audience on their terms, rather than asking for special treatment. Audiences have an innate sense for authenticity and will reward it.
Trump’s campaign understood this. When going on the Joe Rogan Experience, he met the host at his Austin studio and recorded for Rogan’s standard three hours. As with a slew of other podcast hits he did at the end of the campaign, Trump understood that respecting the expectations of a media personality’s audience is just as important as making it on the show. And the campaign’s bet paid off: Rogan’s interview, recorded less than two weeks before the election, racked up nearly 40 million views in three days. On Election Day, MSNBC interviewed young men in line who said that Rogan got them to the polls. Who ever said the same about Taylor Swift, Beyonce, or Katy Perry? (I never need to see Katy Perry share the stage with a democratic candidate ever again. We, as a society, can move on.)
Respecting the terms of influencers and their audience’s relationships is crucial for gaining their benefits. A week before the election, Rogan tweeted that while the Harris campaign was interested in recording a show, “I would have had to travel to her and they only wanted to do an hour... My sincere wish is to just have a nice conversation and get to know her as a human being. I really hope we can make it happen.” That show never materialized, and Rogan would later endorse Trump the day before the vote.
We are all distraught by the outcome. Searching for the place to lay blame is normal (see every post on Substack since Wednesday.) Calling out the women on the campaign and other extremely influential women as useless, at fault, and clearly not anywhere close to the value of men like Rogan (insert whatever brocast here) is just not it. If TS chose to invest her considerable fortune or influence in a future democratic candidate or creation of a better messaging/media program, no doubt she would be tremendously valuable. I’m guessing you will be spared the agony of seeing Katy Perry again. Would seeing Bruce Springsteen, Willy Nelson or any of the many other male celebrities been equally offensive? The misogyny is part of the problem.
Kamala Harris had 107 days to mount a campaign. She was regularly traveling between 2-3 states and doing 15 to 16 hour days. Since Biden’s fundraising had been so dismal, the VP also had to do extensive fundraising. She also had to revamp Biden’s campaign infrastructure, hire new people, vet a running mate, and help run the country. The Call Me Daddy interview was literally taped during the same week that the VP was juggling the response to Hurricane Helene and acting in her official capacity. She went to North Carolina almost immediately afterwards to survey the damage and to help with relief efforts. That’s part of the reason why the interview was so short. The VP was not asking for special treatment - she was trying to do everything as best as she could on a very compressed time schedule.
Donald Trump has been running for President for 9 years, does not have a day job, and could waste a whole day with Joe Rogan. The VP did not have that luxury. The expectations for male and female politicians are also completely different, and Harris would have been lambasted by the media if she showed up without makeup and in her pajamas (as you suggest).
I’m usually a fan of yours, Keith, but the optics of this post (i.e., you, a white gay man telling a woman of color how to present herself), are incredibly problematic. In fact, any critique of this election that does not acknowledge the reality of misogyny and white supremacy misses the mark.