Conservatives Don’t Get to Claim Taylor Swift’s Love Story
The blonde pop star may be marrying the football player, but the moral of this all American love story is the opposite of the trad wife narrative they’re trying to inspire.
Photo: Instagram/@taylorswift CelebritiesIn Depth
This week, we enjoyed a brief respite from America’s descent into fascism thanks to pop star Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end (I had to Google this) Travis Kelce, who announced their engagement in the way every little girl dreams of—an Instagram collab post. Like with everything Swift does, the reaction was immediate and outsized, with more than 10 million Instagram likes in the first hour and outlets like the New York Times blasting push notifications like a t-shirt cannon at Arrowhead Stadium.
Swifties of all ages are celebrating, the Gaylors are hating, football fans continue to pine for the pre-Taylor days, and because we can’t have nice things in 2025 without some dude who wants to ban birth control entering the chat, conservative pundits are now trying to spin this narrative into a win for traditional values.
“This is unironically an excellent thing. Hope many other single people follow their example,” tweeted Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro. Right-wing columnist Mary Rooke published an op-ed in the Daily Caller titled, “Say What You Want About Taylor Swift But Her And Travis Kelce Might Have Given Humanity A Chance,” arguing Swift can “save thousands of cat ladies from a life of loneliness” and help America avoid a population death spiral by making marriage and babies “cool” again (no one tell the economy!). Even Donald Trump, who previously proclaimed, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,” congratulated the couple just hours after the announcement.
Not one to be out-ghouled, Turning Point USA founder and far-right bobblehead Charlie Kirk jumped in, tweeting, “Young women should get married just like Taylor Swift is planning to. You will be happier.” Then, on an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, he looked dead into the camera and told a woman with 14 Grammys: “Reject feminism. Submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.” For over three and a half minutes (the images from that are now burned into my retinas), Kirk expressed his hope—and assumption—that by getting married and having children, Swift “might go from a cat lady to a JD Vance supporter.” He said, “I think we should celebrate that. We want Taylor Swift on Team America.”