It appears that NBC News has definitely settled on a post-debate angle. Having not been an active participant in the clinic on awful moderation put on by ABC, the Peacock Network is going with full-blown Swiftamania.
First came the morning gushfest on Today. Watch as the NBC Nightly News gleefully veers into celebrity news, all in service of the Regime:
LESTER HOLT: And another pop star making news, Taylor Swift giving Kamala Harris a surprise endorsement, but does this kind of celebrity support really sway voters? Here's Savannah Sellers.
JENN MARIE: Breaking [ bleep ] News.
HOUFDIZZLE: She endorsed Kamala tonight.
SAVANNAH SELLERS: Just moments after the debate, it was the Instagram post that ricocheted across the internet and social media.
THE RELATABLE AUNTIE: Taylor Swift endorsed Madam VP Kamala Harris.
SELLERS: Pop megastar Taylor Swift telling her 283 million followers that after seeing artificial intelligence of her falsely endorsing Donald Trump, she felt the need to be transparent.
The transparency in question is Swift’s stated concern over a fake AI meme of her endorsing Donald Trump, cited as the primary driver behind the 2020 Biden voter’s decision to endorse Kamala Harris for president in 2024. The report would then show video of Swift lamenting that she didn’t openly endorse Hillary Clinton in 2016. I don’t know, guys, I think Kamala had this endorsement in the bag.
NBC News NOW anchor Savannah Sellers’ report goes on to further cite Swift’s reasons for endorsing Kamala Harris per her Instagram post, including her awe at the selection of Tim Walz as running mate, what with his “defense of LGBTQ+ rights.” So Swift is endorsing Harris because Walz put tampons in boys’ bathrooms and made Minnesota into a “trans sanctuary” where parents can lose custody of their kids if they don’t agree to their hormonal or surgical mutilation. That, and abortion on demand.
Sellers tried to provide some intellectual bolstering to this mindless report by citing a Harvard study on celebrity endorsements, adding Swift to the pantheon of other recent Hollywood lefty endorsers such as George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey. The report closes with Sellers expressing awe at the number of visits to a voter registration site.
NBC has clearly chosen their post-debate lane, and it is Swiftamania.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the NBC Nightly News on Wednesday, September 11th, 2024:
LESTER HOLT: And another pop star making news, Taylor Swift giving Kamala Harris a surprise endorsement, but does this kind of celebrity support really sway voters? Here's Savannah Sellers.
JENN MARIE: Breaking [ bleep ] News.
HOUFDIZZLE: She endorsed Kamala tonight.
SAVANNAH SELLERS: Just moments after the debate, it was the Instagram post that ricocheted across the internet and social media.
THE RELATABLE AUNTIE: Taylor Swift endorsed Madam VP Kamala Harris.
SELLERS: Pop megastar Taylor Swift telling her 283 million followers that after seeing artificial intelligence of her falsely endorsing Donald Trump, she felt the need to be transparent.
TAYLOR SWIFT: I'm sad that I didn't two years ago but I can't change that.
SELLERS: Swift, who in this Netflix documentary agonized over not engaging in the 2016 election, now declares: “I'm voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them”. And pushing her fans to a voter registration site.
HULK HOGAN: Let Trumpamania make America great again.
SELLERS: Trump enjoys celebrity endorsements as well. Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock showing their support at the RNC. A recent Harvard study says when it comes to celebrities, evidence indicates that these voices are incredibly powerful. If not for candidate support, for boosting political engagement: an open question with young voters who may be encouraged by Swift.
OPRAH WINFREY: I'm just following my own truth and that truth has led me to Barack Obama.
SELLERS: Celebrities can also create momentum, like Oprah's endorsement of Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, and George Clooney's op-ed encouraging Biden to leave the race. Taylor Swift now potentially the most influential childless cat lady of 2024.
And Lester, the swift effect already having an impact. That voter registration site that she pushed to by 2 PM today, some more than 330,000 visitors- specifically from the link that she created.
HOLT: Okay. Savannah Sellers, thank you.
