"Enormous charisma"

US election: Taylor Swift could make the difference

Earlier this week, superstar Taylor Swift was at the Super Bowl to support her boyfriend Travis Kelce. Now many are wondering: Will she also perform this service for US President Joe Biden and do publicity for him? The fact is: Her support could make all the difference for the incumbent.

According to US campaign expert Yussi Pick, Swift has "enormous appeal in target groups that cannot be reached with traditional media". "When it's only about 40,000 votes, that makes a difference."

It is not just a conspiracy theory or a media phenomenon, he emphasized. The singer has "an impact in the real world" with her positioning, he said, referring to the effects of her previous calls for voter registration. These had each led to a "spike" in the number of registrations.

As further evidence of the pop singer's influence on the political mood, Pick saw the fact "that a right-wing mob went after her" and spread the ("absurd") conspiracy theory that the final game of the US football league NFL ("Super Bowl") had been pushed in favor of her friend Trevor Kelce's team so that incumbent Biden would also win the election.

Swift had her beginnings in (rather conservative) country music and was popular among both Democrats and Republicans. He sees the risk of damage to the singer's image through Biden's support as rather manageable. He does not believe that Swift could make hardcore Trump supporters rethink their position. "Other deradicalization measures would have to take effect."

The majority of voters have only just begun to realize that Trump is back.

US-Kampagnenexperte Yussi Pick

"The majority of voters have only just begun to realize that Trump is back. This has not yet been reflected in the polls," he said, referring to the poor ratings for incumbent Biden. In addition, the figures for then President Barack Obama were "just as bad" a year before his re-election in 2012.