Safe to say that John Rich isn't a Swiftie.
The country singer and one half of Big & Rich is obviously on the opposite side of the political aisle from Taylor Swift. Rich has been an outspoken supporter of current GOP nominee and former President Donald Trump, while the pop superstar recently endorsed the Democrat nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.
Swift endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020 when he was running against Trump, so it's no surprise that she would endorse Harris this time around.
But according to Rich, the endorsement is "dangerous" for young people.
Appearing on OutKickThe Morning with Charly Arnolt, Rich argued that the Minnesota governor's support for so-called "gender affirming care" for minors makes Swift's endorsement particularly troublesome, given the age of much of her audience.
In 2023, Walz signed into law a bill aimed at protecting the rights of those who identify as transgender to receive treatment such as surgeries and puberty blockers. And he also signed an executive order affirming access to these treatments.
According to Rich:
"Go look at Minnesota, what they're doing up there. They're taking kids and taking state funds to take kids in, underage kids who are confused about whatever, and doing permanent damage to their physical bodies that they will never get over. And who's Taylor Swift's crowd? Young people. People under the age of 18 who are listening to her and now they're reading about Tim Walz, going, 'Oh, she really likes Tim Walz, maybe I should like Tim Walz.' I mean, you talk about dangerous. I mean, she is so dangerous right now to young people pushing what she's pushing, because she does have their ear."
It's still yet to be seen what impact Swift's endorsement will actually have on the election, given that her fans are mainly young people who traditionally have been the least likely to vote. But her post endorsing Harris and encouraging fans to register to vote drove over 400,000 people to the website with information on how to register.
It also drove Trump to personally express his displeasure with Swift, posting on his Truth Social platform that he "hates' the pop star.
Just goes to show you the influence that the pop star could. have on the upcoming election - an influence that John Rich argues is dangerous to young people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocwqO4Q7LRs
