Taylor Swift is used to being the talk of the town. But the pop artist may not have been prepared for how her name and songs are getting used by the Republican and Democratic parties alike.
That’s exactly what has happened as Taylor Swift has become the face of the Republican Party’s message about the growing national debt figure, PolitiFact reported this week . In addition to this, both parties have had candidates reference the famous musical artist in comments in recent weeks.
The ad — which came out as Taylor Swift wrapped up her final American concert on the 1989 Tour — focused on the amount of money required to pay off the national debt’s daily interest.
“Here’s one thing she’d be sad to hear: How many concerts she’d have to perform to pay off 1 day of interest on America’s debt,” the Republican Party of Florida wrote about the photo.
The claim the party makes — and PolitiFactbacked as “mostly true” — is based off the overwhelming amount of money Taylor Swift and her concerts have grossed this year. According to Billboard, that figure stood at $173 million— and rising — in October.
John Kasich, the Republican presidential hopeful and former Ohio Governor, referenced Taylor Swift in a totally different context at a recent town hall event in Richmond. In fielding a question from a young female member in attendance, Kasich seemed haughty, the Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote of the audience member’s account from the event.
“I don’t have any tickets for, you know, for Taylor Swift or anything or, you know, or Linkin Park. Go ahead, yes, I know you are just so excited.”
The student, 18-year-old Kayla Solsbak, found the Taylor Swift remark offensive, she wrote for the University of Richmond newspaper.
“What continues to strike me is the hypocrisy of his condescension. He touted his ambitious energy as an 18-year-old man, but as soon as I, an 18-year-old woman, exhibited ambition, I became the target of his joke.”
Kasich wasn’t the only one to pull out a Taylor Swift reference during a recent event. Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley was on ABC’s The View last month when the former Maryland Governor broke out his guitar to cover the Taylor Swift hit “Bad Blood.”
The stunt was aimed at a political rally where Hillary Clinton and Katy Perry — who the “Bad Blood” song has been reportedly written about — were set to take the same stage. O’Malley trails Hillary in both the polls and SNL appearances .
One thing is certain: “Bad Blood” does not refer to the relationship between Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. After a brief Twitter squabble earlier this year, the two musicians have made amends . In fact, Taylor Swift is rumored to have supported Nicki Minaj in her feud with fellow female recording artist, Miley Cyrus.
Taylor Swift has had a banner year with her hits from the album 1989 . Her current hit, “ Wildest Dreams,” debuted at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this year, giving Taylor Swift a total of five songs that have launched as singles from the year-old album.
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The awards have poured in for Taylor Swift this year thanks to her music. In addition to winning the most awards at this year’s VMAs, the artist also scored an Emmy for producing a behind-the-scenes look at the filming for “Blank Space.” The news was a shock to Taylor Swift, who admitted she thought it was a prank .
What do you think of the recent use in political comments and advertisements of Taylor Swift? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
[Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images]