As Brat summer ‘slips away into a moment in time’, the cooler winds of autumn have blown in another celebrity endorsement for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign – saved again from internet irrelevancy in the nick of time.
Following the latest debate between Killer Kamala and Delusional Donald, billionaire and frequent–flyer Taylor Swift has graciously confirmed her endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket.
This ‘love story’ could not have come at a better time for the Democratic Party establishment: a lacklustre debate performance by Harris (and Trump) left both campaigns wanting.
Taylor Swift’s statement endorsing Kamala Harris for President. pic.twitter.com/qoUNK8KiQd
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 11, 2024
In another desperate attempt to appeal to the youth, Kamala HQ wasted no time in producing a barrage of TikTok-friendly supercuts of Kamala over Swift’s songs.
Her campaign team has also added Swift’s songs to their playlist of walkout songs. And ‘friendship bracelets’ – a staple of the Swiftie fan base – have been added to the campaign’s online shop.
Are you ready for it? 🔥 Harris-Walz friendship bracelets have hit the store!
Pre-order yours now: https://t.co/rairIoMe0F pic.twitter.com/0Csc84i7hg
— Official Team Kamala (@TeamKamala) September 11, 2024
Trump, ever the master of the English language, has responded in kind, declaring “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on his Truth Social platform.
‘Does any of this actually matter?’ you may ask.
In the eyes of ordinary people, such celebrity endorsements expose the fraudulence and pageantry of ‘democracy’ under capitalism. They are merely a distraction from the complete lack of policies to improve our lives.
But some elements of the deluded liberal establishment actually believe this pledge of support could tip the scales.
Forbes argued that Taylor’s admonishment of Trump over racist remarks in 2020 is what dealt the death blow to his presidency.
And the Guardian declared that Swift could single-handedly “determine the future of US democracy”.
Such fantasies are habitual amongst the capitalist press, who seem to base themselves more on ‘vibes’ than cold hard facts.
The facts are clear: the overwhelming majority of voters (81 percent) said the endorsement made no difference in their likelihood of voting for Harris; 13 percent said it made them less likely to vote for her.
Swift – presumably from the comfort of her private jet – righteously declared “we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos…the choice is yours to make”.
But, as with all elections in the belly of the beast, all we have is a choice between death by gunshot or ‘death by a thousand cuts’. Chaos, and not calm, is what lies ahead for the US. And many Americans know this ‘all too well’.
🚨| Kamala Harris on having Taylor Swift’s endorsement for the upcoming election
“I am proud to have the support of Taylor. She’s an incredible artist, I respect the courage that she has had in her career to stand up for what she believes is right”
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) September 20, 2024
Despite styling themselves as the ‘sensible’, ‘progressive’ option, the Democrats’ policies are fundamentally the same as Trump’s.
Biden and Harris are happy to lavish billions on the war machine: defence spending has increased by 4.1 percent in 2024 alone. And the Democrats have been more than willing to intensify Trump’s ‘America First’ trade war policies.
All the while, economic inequality has continued to surge, despite Biden and Harris’ professed ‘pro-labour’ platform.
And the Democrats’ time-worn calling card – championing LGBT rights and abortion rights – rings more hollow than ever. Despite controlling two branches of government, social gains have actually been reversed under their watch.
And that’s not to mention the Democrat’s continued support for the Israeli regime, which gleefully rapes and murders women in their thousands. Just like Trump, Harris has reiterated that she “will always give Israel the ability to defend itself” – that is, write Netanyahu and co. endless blank cheques to cash in when they please.
Harris is ‘guilty as sin’. But billionaires like Swift know which side their bread is buttered on. Hitching her wagon to the status quo is about as surprising as a new release of repackaged Swift singles.
Irrespective of this or that endorsement – or whoever wins the election, for that matter – class war is on the order of the day. Capitalism has nothing to offer us. It’s time to ‘shake it off’.
As a great revolutionary once said:
…these things will change
Can you feel it now?
These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down
It’s a revolution, the time will come
For us to finally win
