(The Hill) – Nearly a fifth of Americans in a new poll say they think Taylor Swift is involved in a "covert" effort to help President Biden win reelection as baseless conspiracy theories continue to swirl online surrounding the pop icon.
The poll released Wednesday by Monmouth University found 18 percent of Americans said they think a "covert government effort" for Swift to help Biden win the election exists. Nearly three-quarters, 73 percent, said they do not think such an effort exists, while 9 percent said they didn't know.
A little more than half of that group — 54 percent — said they had not heard about this theory, while 46 percent said they had.
The "Love Story" singer has been at the center of various conspiracy theories circulated by conservative media in recent weeks. The theories center on the unfounded idea that the NFL rigged games to ensure her boyfriend Travis Kelce's football team made and won the Super Bowl.
Kelce's team, the Kansas City Chiefs, did eventually clinch the AFC Championship and went on to win the Super Bowl on Sunday, defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. Swift has been widely covered at games throughout the season and is often seen in a box seat cheering on her boyfriend.
For his part, Biden has poked fun at the theories. "Just like we drew it up," the president tweeted after the game Sunday, alongside a "Dark Brandon" meme depicting himself with laser eyes.
Former President Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, argued Sunday there is "no way" Swift would endorse Biden.
"Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will. There’s no way she could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money," Trump wrote in-part on Truth Social.
An endorsement from the pop star could boost Biden, especially among younger and female voters. Some have noted a single Instagram post from the singer last year directing her followers to the nonpartisan nonprofit Vote.org led to 35,000 new voter registrations.
A report late last month from The New York Times indicated that Biden's aides were interested in a "dream" endorsement from the singer as the campaign gears up for the November election.
Swift has yet to speak about an endorsement of Biden's 2024 run, but she did throw her support behind him during the 2020 presidential election.
Just more than two-thirds, or 68 percent, of participants in Monmouth's poll said they approve of Swift encouraging her fans to vote in the upcoming election, while a quarter said they disapprove. About 7 percent said they don't know.
The participants were generally split on their impression of Swift, with 39 percent holding a favorable opinion and 43 percent saying they have no opinion. About 13 percent said they had an unfavorable view of Swift, and 5 percent had not heard of the singer.
The poll was conducted Feb. 8-12 among a national random sample of 902 adults. The sample has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points