Taylor Swift and Kelce too

The front page of this past weekend’s Wall Street Journal highlighted three important news items.

First, Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” is the only singing tour ever to gross $1 billion. Second, on a hypothetical ballot listing only Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Trump leads Biden 47% to 43%. Third, Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, has become famous enough to rate a cover story in the Journal’s magazine, WSJ.

The “Eras Tour” began in March 2023 and is scheduled to end on December 8, 2024. 

Five days later, Swift turns 35 and is thus eligible officially to become president of the United States on January 20, 2025. Only 37 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, but many websites say Swift is “universally acclaimed.”

Swift’s music appeals to young Democrats but comes out on the Republic label. She begins her Tour performances with “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” a grumpy-lyric song that could pull votes from Trump: “My team is losing, battered and bruising/ I see the high fives between the bad guys…/ American stories burning before me/ I’m feeling helpless… now the storm is coming.”

The groundswell has begun. The Time cover story that anointed her 2023 Person of the Year includes a quotation from Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group: “She could serve two terms as President of the United States and then go to Las Vegas. Who else can do that?”

Donald Trump, of course, could do that if elected in 2025 and not imprisoned in 2029. But Swift is clearly in better shape: Time noted that “to prepare for the tour physically, Swift sang the entire set list daily while running on a treadmill. [She] trained in dance for three months leading up to the first show.” I’d like to see Trump do that.

Plus, those who say Swift is not tough enough to be president will be able to point to her VP running mate, Travis Kelce, who turns 35 on October 4, 2024, and is thus also eligible. The tight end “Plays for Keeps,” according to WSJ., and “has phenomenal pain tolerance.” Kelce also has a Rolls-Royce with a ceiling that displays a shooting star: He pointed to it during a WSJ. interview and said, “Make a wish. Dreams come true.”

Americans dream of an alternative to Biden or Trump. Oprah Winfrey said no. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said no. The Swift/Kelce era beckons. ###