Xu Jinlin on Taylor Swift and the US Election

Xu Jilin, “What is the Meaning of Taylor Swift's 100 Million Dollar Ragdoll Cat?”[1]

Introduction and Translation by David Ownby

Introduction

Xu Jinlin (b. 1957) is Professor of History at East China Normal University in Shanghai and one of China’s most influential liberal public intellectuals. He is the inspiration for the Reading the China Dream project, and many of his writings have been translated and published here.

The text translated below is a quick commentary on the US election, probably written in a free moment while Xu was on a recent visit to Turkey. It was published on September 12, the day after Taylor Swift announced her support for Kamala Harris, and the tone of the piece suggests that Xu’s sympathies lie with Harris and not with Trump. Beyond that, however the piece is merely a fun read that reminds us how closely Chinese intellectuals follow US politics.

It is interesting that Xu himself decided to take his piece down after a couple of days, although we can only speculate as to why.

Fun fact: Taylor Swift’s name in Chinese is Taile Siweifute 泰勒·斯威夫特, a transliteration of her English name. Her Chinese nickname is Meimei/霉霉, which means something like “unlucky,” although to my knowledge it is only used for Swift and not applied to other unlucky people. According to what I could learn, her original nickname was Meimei 美美 or美眉 meaning “beauty” or “beautiful eyebrows,” but her detractors called her the homonym 霉霉 : mei/霉 literally means “mildew,” but is most often used in the expression daomei/倒霉, “to be unlucky.” This is because: at the time, Swift’s songs made it to #2 but not #1 (how unlucky!) and/or her songs always told tales of personal woe (poor little rich girl!).

Translation

Taylor Swift has publicly announced her support for Kamala Harris. She signed her message “a childless cat woman,” making it a point to be photographed with her favorite ragdoll cat. Although her snark was directed at J. D. Vance, Trump is the one who took the hit. Believing he was cruising to victory, Trump chose the outspoken Vance as his running mate, but once Biden left the race, Vance became Trump’s box-office flop.

Not even Trump and his redneck fans dare underestimate Taylor Swift’s influence. In the US, 53% of those eligible to vote are Taylor Swift fans, and 16% are diehard fans ready to do her bidding. Taylor Swift may well be the key to the 2024 US presidential election. All along, Trump has been silently praying that she not make her position public. But she made her move, and with perfect timing: immediately after the first debate in which Harris performed better than expected, starting to look like she might be in line to be the first female president of the United States. Taylor's official announcement is undoubtedly an early coronation for Harris.

Some people say that in today’s America both Democratic and Republican voters are locked in, and that the only people Taylor can influence are her die-hard Democratic fans. This is both true and not true, because there are a lot of Swifties who usually don’t care about politics, but who will come out to vote following Taylor’s call, meaning that the votes she will deliver are those still sitting on the fence. She has also promised to continue to urge people to vote and to provide information on how they can do it. The margin between Trump and Harris has always hovered between 2 and 3 percent, and Taylor’s influence on the key fans she is mobilizing comes to just that amount.

Some people also say that Taylor, as a public figure, should remain neutral and not get involved in the election. In a democratic country, it is the military and bureaucrats who have to remain neutral, not public figures. Didn't Elon Musk publicly announce his support for Trump a few days ago? If businessmen can do this, then why can’t artists?

In today's America, the appeal of public figures now vastly exceeds that of ordinary politicians. It’s the politicians’ fault if they are boring and lack charm. In an era of social media and universal entertainment, superstars like Taylor Swift are enough to save the economy, shake the earth, and change the US election. Perhaps, with the appearance of Taylor Swift's $97 million ragdoll cat, there is no more suspense about who will be the new occupant of the White House.

Notes

[1]许纪霖, “霉霉身价近亿美元的布偶猫亮相意味着什么,” published on the author’s WeChat portal on September 12, 2024