California Gov. Gavin Newsom defended Taylor Swift after some Republicans made the 34-year-old singer their new political target.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show,” Newsom was asked about conspiracy theories aimed at the star by right-wing Donald Trump supporters.
The conspiracies are related to Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, with voices like former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy amplifying claims that the press attention around the star is artificially manufactured to announce an eventual endorsement of President Joe Biden.
There are some variations of the theory, with some predicting that the NFL will rig the Super Bowl so Kelce’s team will win — providing Swift with the platform to loudly give Biden her stamp of approval.
Host Jonathan Capehart asked Newsom what he made of the theories.
Newsom, who previously predicted in September that Swift would be a “profoundly powerful” influence to get people year’s election, said that the conspiracy theories were an indication that the Republican Party is “sad and pathetic.”
“What is her sin? She wants more people to vote,” Newsom said.” She wants to help people register to vote and remind them the importance of expressing their democratic rights and responsibilities…They don’t want people to vote. They want to make it harder because they can’t win if you vote.”
The California governor then jokingly said that the real issue is that Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs tight end, will face Newsom’s favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers, at the Super Bowl.
“Yeah, so that’s the real issue,” Newsom said. “Now you’re having a real conversation with me. You’re on the wrong team. I mean, that’s the deeper problem.”
To be clear, Swift has not endorsed Biden for the 2024 election, though she threw her support behind the president in 2020. However, Biden aides are trying to make an endorsement happen again this year, per The New York Times.
The ploys for an endorsement have gone so far that one of Biden’s aides floated the idea of the president attending Swift’s blockbuster Eras Tour.
Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
This isn’t Swift’s first time facing an onslaught of outlandish conspiracy theories that include her being a part of the Illuminati or a clone of a Satanic cult leader.
However, theories have exploded recently following the “Lover” singer’s recent romance with Kelce.
Sports fans and Republicans alike have floated the idea that Swift began dating Kelce to help opposing teams somehow make it to the Super Bowl and that Swift’s presence at games was a purposeful ploy to make Kelce bad at playing football.
However, these theories did not pan out after the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC championship in January.
