What could have been the reason behind Kamala Harris’ 2024 Presidential election loss? Well, a large part of the people blame none other than her husband, Doug Emhoff, whom she married in 2014.
According to a new book, the former Second Gentleman of the United States was given the task of getting Taylor Swift to support her campaign, but he ultimately failed to launch the deal.
There was a rumor that the pop icon would be performing at Harris’ last appearance in Philadelphia. However, despite Emhoff’s utmost effort to get her on the stage, Swift reportedly declined the offer. In their book, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf claimed that Taylor Swift was not on board with doing more than just publicly backing the Democratic Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.
The book, launched this Tuesday, concluded, “Swift proved to be a special challenge.” Although the Love Story singer strongly showed her support for the Biden-era Vice President following their debate with Donald Trump in September, she refrained from directly taking part in her campaign trail, as per Irish Star.
It has been revealed that Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, contacted Doug Baldridge, who is Swift’s lawyer, to get her to agree to perform, but was reportedly turned down. “Nothing more than the endorsement ever materialized,” the authors of the upcoming book noted.
Wait..
Doug was in charge of getting Taylor Swift on board?!?
BAHhHahahHaHA 🤣😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/XXeWD2Erue
— Walter Curt (@WCdispatch_) July 8, 2025
That night, the Philadelphia rallygoers missed Taylor Swift, but enjoyed great performances and performances by other big stars such as Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Fat Joe, The Roots, will.i.am, and Ricky Martin.
In an attempt to mobilize low-propensity voters, Kamala Harris managed to get many A-listers involved in her election campaign, including Katy Perry, Megan Thee Stallion, Jon Bon Jovi, Christiana Aguilera, Mumford & Sons, and 2 Chainz.
While Beyonce, Cardi B, and Jennifer Lopez did not perform, they also showed up in support of the Democratic candidate. These high-profile, high-production events took place in battleground states and reportedly cost the campaign a heft $20 million.
However, despite their solid attempts, it ultimately worked in Donald Trump‘s favor the next day. The authors of the new book noted that these high-budget events brought little to no extra credit for Kamala Harris, noting that there was no proof that these stars ultimately swayed voters to the Democrats’ side.
Doug may have come into his “political spouse” role late in life, but damn, he’s good at it! 🙂↕️ https://t.co/lK1WdQ0ehl https://t.co/Bp4ZzDU0v8 pic.twitter.com/u9oC3ZRjBX
— Kayah (@__Kayah__) July 8, 2025
“Privately, some campaign staff raised concerns that the major rallies may not be worth the millions of dollars they cost to stage or the staff investment,” the journalists wrote in their book.
Could the election result have been different had Emhoff managed to convince Taylor Swift to perform a solo performance as part of Harris’s campaign?
