This week, a new front opened in the culture wars, when Taylor Swift jumped into the political arena for the first time.
Taking to social media, Ms. Swift urged her fans and followers—who far outnumber those of President @realDonaldTrump, but not of former President Obama—to vote in the midterm elections, and to vote for Democrats.
The move sent shockwaves throughout the far-right—where Swift had long been seen as an "Aryan goddess"—and caused her stock to drop around 25% with Trump.
Meanwhile, Swift's nemesis, Kanye West, saw his stock rise with Trump this week.
During a televised Oval Office meeting, the rapper delivered a 10 minute soliloquy on everything from mental illness (his own), to hydrogen planes, to the 13th Amendment, to masculinity, and more.
It was really quite... something.
We'll just have to wait and see how many jobs this hip-hop BBQ created.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams (D); Missouri Senate Candidate Josh Hawley (R); Former CIA Director John Brennan; Roundtable: Peter Baker (New York Times), Republican Strategist Lanhee Chen, Carol Lee (NBC News) & Andrea Mitchell (NBC News).
Face The Nation: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE); Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); Roundtable: Susan Glasser (The New Yorker), Susan Page (USA Today) & Jonah Goldberg (National Review).
This Week: White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ); Roundtable: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Maggie Haberman (New York Times), Rich Lowry (National Review) & Tom Llamas (ABC News).
Fox News Sunday: White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow; Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai; Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Republican Strategist Karl Rove, Former Hillary Clinton Advisor Philippe Reines & Julie Pace (Associated Press).
State of the Union: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Sen. Marco Rubio; Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams (D); Roundtable: Democratic Strategist Symone Sanders, Republican Strategist Scott Jennings, Republican Strategist Amanda Carpenter & Democratic Strategist Paul Begala.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: an interview with President Trump (preview); and, an interview with National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore (preview).
Late night shows:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Monday: Actress Melissa McCarthy; Comedian Phoebe Robinson.
Tuesday: Actor/Composer/Lyricist/Playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda; Brooke Baldwin (CNN).
Wednesday: Actor Peter Dinklage; Actress Busy Philipps; Rapper Noname.
Thursday: Joe Scarborough & Mika Brzezinski (MSNBC); Actress Laura Benanti; Rock Band The Revivalists.
Friday: Actress Robin Wright (CNN).
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Monday: Actress Amandla Stenberg; Tuesday: Actress Melissa McCarthy; Wednesday: Rep. Julian Castro (D-TX); Thursday: Racing Driver Lewis Hamilton.
Elsewhere...
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette apologized for being a creeper.
The Republican nominee for Michigan governor this week apologized for uncomfortable comments he made to an unidentified woman in a 1989 video clip.
In the 38-second video, a woman out of view of the camera can be heard telling Bill Schuette, then a Michigan congressman, to move closer to a lamp.
"I will do anything you want," Schuette replied. "Some things I may not let you run the camera on."
"That apparently was my poor attempt to be humorous 30 years ago," Schuette said, expressing "regret" and calling the clip "embarrassing." "The video, which appears to be edited with only one short portion shown, has been in the public domain for some time."
Meanwhile...
Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner threatened his opponent, metaphorically.
Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner sent a message to his opponent Gov. Tom Wolf in a video Friday, saying, "I'm going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes."
In a video posted on Wagner's campaign Facebook page Friday morning, a finger-jabbing Wagner tells Wolf, "Somewhere yesterday, your people said that I raised a ... white flag."
"Well, Gov. Wolf, let me tell you, between now and November 6, you better put a catcher's mask on your face," he adds. "Because I'm going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes because I'm going to win this for the state of Pennsylvania."
Wagner campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement that Wagner's "comments were not to be taken literally."
"He wanted them to be a metaphor for how he will approach the final stretch of the campaign," he added.
Shake it off.
– Trix