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Biden Move Outperforms Taylor Swift with Voters, Congressman Awestruck, “Wow”

by in Daily Edition | July 24, 2024

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift (Photo by Glenn Francis/Pacific Pro Digital Photography)Toglenn (Glenn Francis) / CC BY-SA

Pop superstar and cultural phenomenon Taylor Swift and President Joe Biden have more in common than is immediately apparent. Besides their alignment on certain issues — the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights, the belief that voting is critical to the health of a democracy, etc. — they are both record breakers.

Swift’s Eras Tour is now widely considered the most successful and highest-grossing concert tour of all time, with revenues surpassing $1 billion.

And though the heyday of Biden’s ability to garner support is now in the rearview mirror — fading support is why he stepped aside in the 2024 presidential election — Biden remains the presidential candidate who, in 2020, received more votes (81+ million) than any other presidential candidate in history.

Her generation and stardom mean Swift predictably dwarfs Biden when it comes to social media followers — and the influence that comes with it. So it was a big victory for voting advocates when in 2023 Swift dropped an instagram post encouraging her more than 270 million followers to register to vote — notably without saying who to vote for.

“I’ve been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my U.S. shows recently. I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are,” Swift wrote. “Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year!” Part of a push on Voter Registration Day, her post included a link to register at Vote.org.

The result — which was not wholly attributable to Swift’s promo — was 35,252 new registrations, a record until the latest move by Joe Biden broke it.

After Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee, more than 38K voters registered in two days according to a post shared by Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA).

It may not have been the way Biden wanted to do it, but by quitting he helped raise the voter registration roles in ways only superstars usually manage. Lieu said simply: “Wow.”