Vivek Ramaswamy's Rigged Super Bowl Claim Wasn't His First Swipe At Taylor Swift

Businessman and former candidate for the 2024 Republican Party presidential nomination Vivek Ramaswamy is known for his controversial views on various social and political issues. He gained notoriety for his book "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam," which delves into his critiques of corporate activism and the perceived co-opting of social justice movements by businesses for marketing purposes. Ramaswamy has also directed his criticism towards an unexpected adversary, namely, the singer Taylor Swift.

Ramaswamy made headlines on January 29, 2024, when he seemingly pushed a conspiracy theory about the Super Bowl being rigged with help from Swift. His views arrived on Twitter when Human Events Senior Editor Jack Posobiec tweeted, "Thinking about when Taylor Swift called out the Soros family in 2019 for buying the rights to her music and then how she came out a super liberal in 2020." Ramaswamy supported this, responding to the tweet, "I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall. Just some wild speculation over here, let's see how it ages over the next 8 months." While the Swifties weren't pleased with him co-signing such notions, it wasn't Ramaswamy's first swipe at the superstar.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour reportedly earned over $1 billion in revenue, making it the highest-grossing tour ever. The Washington Post recognized this massive achievement in October 2023, pointing out how the tour helped strengthen the U.S. economy by bringing a boost in income to local businesses where the tour stopped. Vivek Ramaswamy blasted The Washington Post's report of this, tweeting on October 13, 2023, "Apparently the @washingtonpost believes in trickle-down economics, but only for when it comes to Taylor Swift. People know this double standard All Too Well."

Ramaswamy isn't the only Republican politician who appears to have some beef with Swift. The Grammy Award winner previously endorsed President Joe Biden. She'd also criticized former President Donald Trump on her Twitter, particularly on May 29, 2020, where she directly went at him, stating, "After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? 'When the looting starts the shooting starts'??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump." In January 2024, The New York Times alleged that Swift might be considering endorsing Biden during this year's election, something conservative broadcaster Sean Hannity is advising against. Unfortunately for Swift, controversy has followed her these past few months, especially as her relationship with Travis Kelce continues to heat up.

Politicians such as Vivek Ramaswamy may have reason to be concerned about Taylor Swift and her impact. A recent survey conducted by research firm Savanta [via The Hill] reveals that 1 in 6 adults expressed a heightened interest in voting in the 2024 election if Swift or Travis Kelce encouraged them to do so. While the majority of the respondents stated the couple's political endorsements wouldn't impact them, the 15 percent who can be persuaded may be seen as a threat to Republicans. In September 2023, Swift shared a message on Instagram, encouraging her fans to register to vote through a partnership with Vote.org. The website reported over 35,000 registrations after the post went up.

Whether or not Swift is bothered by Ramaswamy and his associates' thoughts on her is unknown. Nonetheless, with Swift's new album, "The Tortured Poets Department," scheduled to debut on April 19, 2024, it's likely that Ramaswamy may have more to say. Thankfully, such swipes at the singer have not impacted her illustrious career.