Republicans nearly melted down after Taylor Swift's last foray into politics in 2018.
Taylor Swift is "obsessed" with politics and seems eager to encourage Democrats to unite behind the eventual 2020 nominee, according to a wide-ranging interview released Wednesday in Rolling Stone.
"I keep trying to learn as much as I can about politics, and it's become something I'm now obsessed with," Swift said. Before the 2016 election, Swift said she was "living in this sort of political ambivalence, because the person I voted for had always won."
But that appears to be changing now, and the global superstar says she's prepared to engage more openly in politics moving forward.
And she made perfectly clear she is supporting Democrats.
"I'm just focused on the 2020 election. I'm really focused on it. I'm really focused on how I can help and not hinder," she said.
Swift did not endorse or speak about any of the 2020 Democratic candidates running for president but seems focused on uniting Democrats behind the eventual nominee.
"We need to stop dissecting why someone's on our side or if they're on our side in the right way or if they phrased it correctly. We need to not have the right kind of Democrat and the wrong kind of Democrat," she said.
"We need to just be like, 'You're a Democrat? Sick. Get in the car. We're going to the mall," she added.
Swift said the first vote she ever cast for president was helping to elect Barack Obama in 2008, and she voted for him again in 2012.
"We were in such an amazing time when Obama was president because foreign nations respected us. We were so excited to have this dignified person in the White House," she said about the time from 2008 through 2016.
Swift also addressed her support among white supremacists, calling the ideology "just disgusting" and "repulsive." Trump often uses the language of white supremacists, especially when talking about immigrants.
In the interview, Swift even expressed regret for not getting more involved in politics during the 2016 election.
Swift began dabbling in politics during in the 2018 midterms, encouraging fans to register to vote and then go make their voices heard. After her appeal, in which she announced she would not be voting Republicans in her home state of Tennessee, 65,000 people registered to vote.
At the time, Republican operatives we distraught at the pop star's entrance into the political realm. Charlie Kirk, executive director of the GOP-aligned super PAC Turning Point USA, was devastated by Swift's endorsement of Democratic candidates. He attacked Swift as a know-nothing charlatan who had "no idea" what she was talking about.
Swift's newest album, "Lover," is arguably more political than her previous albums. To celebrate Pride Month in June, Swift dropped a video for her song "Calm Down," in which she calls for LGBTQ equality. The music video featured cameo appearances by LGBTQ icons, including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, drag performer RuPaul, and figure skater Adam Rippon.
While the decision may lead to bad blood with Republicans, it looks like Swift is tired of keeping her opinions to herself.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
