Lawyer and columnist Ben Shapiro has criticized Taylor Swift, saying she has "manufactured enthusiasm" like Vice President Kamala Harris.
Swift has been dominating headlines while on her record-breaking Eras Tour, with many considering her one of the biggest pop stars of our time. She is in the middle of the European leg of her tour, performing in Hamburg, Germany, on July 24 before heading to Munich. Her three-and-a-half-hour show includes 10 acts, each inspired by Swift's albums and a period in her life.
Bloomberg Economics said that the Eras Tour contributed $4.3 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023. While dedicated fans are willing to fly around the world to attend one of her concerts and buy multiple album releases to show their support for Swift, Shapiro has questioned the legitimacy of the backing for the pop superstar.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Harris, Swift and Shapiro for comment on Wednesday.
Appearing on Fox News, Shapiro spoke about Harris and Swift with Jesse Watters. A clip of their conversation was posted to X (formerly Twitter) by user @Acyn and, at the time of writing, it has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
Shapiro: I've never seen so much manufactured enthusiasm for anyone outside of maybe Taylor Swift. pic.twitter.com/UhnLCyJPCS
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Speaking about Harris, Shapiro said: "What exactly do her qualifications look like other than you know, again, the sort of intersectional magic of Kamala Harris and the fact that Democrats have to manufacture enthusiasm for—I've never seen as much manufactured enthusiasm for anyone outside of maybe Taylor Swift right now. It's amazing."
"Me neither, me neither! It's, it's, it's, it's, it's so, it's so obvious. You cringe when you see it," Watters responded.
People were quick to take to the comments to defend Swift and criticize Shapiro for angering her fans.
"@taylorswift13 has earned every bit of the fame, success and money. She's an awesome person. Kamala has worked extremely hard as well. Beta males like Ben can't stand that," one person wrote.
"Yeah, when I think of illusory enthusiasm, my mind also immediately goes to Taylor Swift - a woman so popular her mere presence in a region must now be factored into economic modeling in case the hype measurably moves GDP," added another.
"You can tell how idiotic these people are by the fact they would—unprompted—put themselves at odds with Taylor Swift and her fans. Just absolutely abysmal political instincts," someone else commented.
A fourth person added: "Hard to think of worse example of someone with manufactured enthusiasm than Taylor Swift whose tour just grossed over a billion dollars." At the time of writing, their post had been viewed almost 150,000 times.
"Ben about to get all the Swifties voting," a different X user wrote, to which another responded: "We are already all in!"
With President Joe Biden stepping down from his reelection efforts and endorsing Harris as his successor, Swift is facing pressure from a growing faction of her fans to publicly back the potential Democratic nominee.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he would not be seeking reelection in the 2024 presidential race and threw his support behind Kamala Harris, the first Black, South Asian and female vice president in U.S. history. His decision followed weeks of pressure from within his party and from key Democratic donors to step down amid concerns over his age and cognitive fitness.
Harris later said that she planned to "earn and win" the nomination, with the president's support. As Swift threw her support behind Joe Biden and Harris in the 2020 election, fans are expecting the pop star to back Harris in her bid for president. With a devoted fan base, it has been said that the 34-year-old singer could sway the general election result.
During the lead-up to the election in 2020, Swift posted a photo of herself holding a plate of cookies to Instagram, with the sweet treats reading "Biden-Harris 2020" in icing. The photo coincided with the release of her V magazine cover interview, in which Swift confirmed she would be voting for Biden and Harris.
"So apt that (the cover has) come out on the night of the VP [vice presidential] debate," Swift wrote on Instagram. "Gonna be watching and supporting @kamalaharris by yelling at the TV a lot."
The post was the first time the Grammy winner had publicly endorsed a presidential candidate. In the V magazine interview, Swift said Biden and Harris gave America the "chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs."
"The change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included," Swift said.
After Harris announced her presidential run on Sunday, a "Swifties for Harris" account was launched on X and Instagram. The fan account describes itself as a "Coalition of Swifties ready to mobilize Taylor Swift fans to help get Democratic candidates elected up & down the ballot!"
Although not affiliated with Swift, the account hopes "to draw the singer's attention."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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