Sacramento Bee: Taylor Swift is a big social liberal but somehow also embraces capitalism

Brett T. | 5:43 PM on April 03, 2023

We’re old enough to remember the running joke that “Taylor Swift’s conspicuous silence on [insert issue here] is deafening.” Back in 2017, a Daily Beast writer said that the only way the singer could get people (The Resistance) to trust her would be by “publicly announcing that she didn’t vote for Donald Trump.” VICE said the same thing. Marie Claire bullied her over not making her politics public on her new album:

We're still waiting for an explanation of Taylor Swift's decision to remain apolitical during the 2016 election. #Reputation https://t.co/s69OdERtc7

— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) November 14, 2017

There was a huge sigh of relief in 2020 when Swift said that she’s “now obsessed with” politics and said all Democrats “need to stick together” to defeat Trump in 2020.

Phew. At least we know at last that Swift is a Democrat. But still, she lives like someone who “embraces the free market.” What’s that all about?

This hottest of hot takes is brought to you by Nicole Russell and the Sacramento Bee.

Like many younger millennials, the 33 year-old singer leans to the political left: In 2018, she made waves when she endorsed Phil Bredesen, the Democratic candidate for Senate, in her home state of Tennessee. She said she couldn’t support Republican Marsha Blackburn because of her stances on social issues.

She was adamantly opposed to Donald Trump during his presidency. She has supported groups that advocate for gun control and backed politicians who favor the Equality Act, which promises to bolster rights for LGBTQ people, although it’s yet to pass in Congress.

…

If you went to her concerts or paid for any of her albums or merchandise, you made this all happen for her, too. Even if you vote for liberal tax policies, you love the kind of dazzling, glittering, swooping, sloping, cursive-lettered production that only Swift could create. That’s OK, too. Swift is a liberal in the sheets and a conservative in the streets.