Taylor Swift Endorses Kamala But Other Celebrities, Athletes Hesitant To Take The Bait

Have celebrities and athletes finally learned their lesson?

That’s what OutKick’s fearless leader Clay Travis is surmising as more and more stars remain mum on who they are endorsing for the upcoming Presidential election. 

With such a divisive country that is split anywhere from 52-48 to 50-50, there’s no doubt that athletes, corporations, and brands have to walk a tight line unless they are willing to risk alienating half of their potential audience and market.

With everyone from Patrick Mahomes to Caitlin Clark not taking the bait – even when pressed by the liberal media – Clay argues that we are seeing a changing of the guard when it comes to stars who are now taking a page out of “Michael Jordan era politics,” when sports and politics were for the most part separate.

JORDAN FAMOUSLY SAID ‘REPUBLICANS BUY SNEAKERS, TOO’

“Patrick Mahomes says he doesn’t believe in endorsing presidential candidates, gets along with everyone regardless of their political opinions. Good for him, honestly, this is Michael Jordan era politics,” Clay tweeted last night after the star Kansas City quarterback played it safe when pressed by reporters about the upcoming election. 

Mahomes would know first hand just how quickly things can get out of hand after his wife Brittany supported Donald Trump last week, which led to many Taylor Swift fans flipping out when the pop singer was hanging out with her because how dare Taylor be cordial with her friend who happens to support Trump.

Patrick Mahomes’ response was vastly different from Taylor Swift, who publicly came out and endorsed Kamala Harris and the Democratic Presidential ticket after Tuesday night’s debate. I’ve argued that Swift can afford to do that, because she’s, well, Taylor Swift and wasn’t going to endorse Trump to begin with – she’s the exception to the rule because she’s too powerful to fail. Other celebrities don’t have that luxury or have found out just how chaotic it can be out there.

After Caitlin Clark “liked” Swift’s Instagram post regarding her Kamala endorsement, the star basketball player soon found out that there are Republican Indiana Fever fans that tune in to watch her play basketball as well. They didn’t take too fondly of Clark’s political leanings. Interestingly enough, whether someone from her PR team talked to Clark or whether she saw some of the backlash on social media, just hours later, she played it safe when speaking with reporters after the Fever’s loss last night. 

CAITLIN CLARK DIDN’T JUMP INTO THE POLITICAL CESSPOOL

“I think for myself, I have this amazing platform and I think the biggest thing I can do is encourage people to vote,” Clark said while adding that people should “continue to educate themselves.” Whether Clark actually believes what she said doesn’t matter – she handled it perfectly as she has done time and time again whenever she’s been confronted by reporters who are desperate for headlines and waiting for her to slip up.

There will always be those celebrities that will lean a particular way – just look at Robert De Niro. But for those that are trying to build their brand and don’t want to open up social media and be bombarded with trolls and haters, they may want to look towards Michael Jordan for guidance on how to maneuver around the political minefield.

Back in 1990, Jordan refused to endorse North Carolina Democratic Senatorial candidate Harvey Gantt, with the Hall of Fame basketball player saying that “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”

The same premise works today. However, in the ever-growing and second-by-second, free-for-all that is social media, it’s not just profits that may be affected when one endorses a candidate.

Of course, as OutKick’s Tomi Lahren argues, every person has the right to become as politically active as they want and that Harris nor Trump supporters can’t have double standards when it comes to supporting one celebrity for speaking out while ripping another one just because they aren’t for your candidate.

Lahren makes 100% sense. The only question is, will celebrities continue to shy away from endorsing a candidate simply because it’s not worth the headache?

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