A 2018 social media post from former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee discussing the political power of teenage girls has resurfaced as Taylor Swift fans point out a crucial flaw in the reasoning.
Huckabee was responding to Swift’s endorsement of Democratic senate candidate Phil Bredesen over his Republican opponent Marsha Blackburn in the 2018 midterm elections.
On X, then known as Twitter, he wrote, “So @taylorswift13 has every right to be political but it won’t impact election unless we allow 13 yr old girls to vote. Still with #MarshaBlackburn.”
The post appears to have originally resurfaced on Thursday when a user who goes by @allmychapagne reposted it, pointing out that many of those 13-year-old girls Huckabee dismissed six years ago would be voting in the upcoming election.
It gained at least 23,000 likes before the user made their account private.
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It seems the concept also caught the eye of Swifties for Kamala, a coalition to promote Democratic candidates started in July which has raised nearly $140,000 for the Vice President’s campaign.
Also re-posting Huckabee’s tweet, the coalition wrote, “Guess who’s old enough to vote now,” gaining 2.1 million views and 67,000 likes.
Another high-profile user in the Swiftie community, Maya Thompson, weighed in too. Thompson became associated with Swift after it was revealed that the death of her three-year-old son and her blog posts about his illness served as inspiration for Swift’s 2012 song “Ronan.”
In 2018, Thompson had responded to Huckabee’s post, writing, “Lmao. @taylorswift13 wrote her first number one hit in 2006, so those 13-year-old girls are 25 now. See you at the polls though!”
On Thursday, a user responded to the six-year-old tweet writing, “girl I was 13 in 2006 and I’m 31 now 😭 but the statement still stands. TO THE POLLS WE GOOOOO.” Thompson followed up replying “Let’s f**ing go!”
Many other users who identify as Swifties have also been posting in response to Huckabee’s resurfaced comments about the misconception that Swift fans are all teenage girls.
One user, truthisgolden, said they were 42 and a “huge swiftie,” adding, “I don’t know why anyone thinks she gets older but her fans stay half her age,” referencing a line in her 2012 song “All Too Well.”
Another user, Michael Maloney, wrote, “My 19 year old daughter and all of her Swifty friends are voting for the first time in a presidential election this November. They and MILLIONS of other voting age Taylor Swift fans (including me) are voting for Kamala & Harris.”
It comes as people continue to speculate about Swift’s potential endorsement for Harris, as Swift endorsed President Joe Biden during his 2020 campaign.
A recent YouGov poll revealed nearly half of the respondents felt Swift should publicly endorse political candidates.
For much of her career, Swift did not publicly discuss politics, having previously stated that she didn’t think it was her place to influence people’s votes.
However, in 2018 Swift posted on Instagram to encourage fans to register to vote in the midterm elections, saying that Blackburn’s “voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me.” Her controversial choice to weigh in on politics was documented in her 2020 Netflix documentary “Miss Americana.”
The post led voter registration to skyrocket, outlets reported at the time, and then-president Donald Trump responded saying he liked Swift’s music “25 percent” less as a result.
Newsweek reached out to Huckabee and Swift for comment via email.
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