During her recent on-air reporting, CBS anchor Gayle King mentioned rumors she’d heard regarding power couple Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.
King, regularly seen on CBS Mornings, covered the Democratic National Convention (DNC) with co-anchors Norah O’Donnell and Nancy Cordes.
The event, part of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, occurred at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. It featured plenty of star power, including King’s good friend Oprah Winfrey, actress Kerry Washington, Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson, and singer Pink.
During the coverage, King speculated about Swift and Kelce’s potential involvement in the event. However, her co-hosts corrected her, leading to an exchange regarding the rumors, and viewers called King out online.
During the CBS News America Decides coverage of the DNC’s final night in Chicago, Cordes said they couldn’t confirm the “rampant” rumors involving Beyonce and Swift attending the event.
“Well, you know, the Taylor Swift rumor is interesting because I was told a couple of days ago that Travis Kelce also had reached out to the Harris campaign when it was first announced and said that he wanted to be here on the night that she was speaking. We’ll see if that is true,” King said.
Soon after, Cordes and O’Donnell mentioned that Kelce’s NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs, had a preseason game against the Chicago Bears simultaneously with the DNC.
“I know he has a game,” King quickly replied, “but that doesn’t mean he’s playing.” Thursday’s game occurred in Kansas City, Missouri.
BREAKING: CBS’s Gayle King reports she heard that Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had recently reached out to the Kamala Harris campaign about attending the DNC tonight pic.twitter.com/gwEqhSvmZS
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 23, 2024
Starting players like Kelce might play briefly during NFL preseason games, but teams mainly evaluate backup or newer players’ performances. During Thursday’s game, Kelce stayed off the field, rooting for his team to win from the sidelines. The Bears defeated them 34-21.
Fans online expressed their frustration over King’s rumor about Kelce. On the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, several individuals commented about what she’d said.
“WTF is he doing in Kansas City, @GayleKing?” a commenter wrote on X, including a screenshot of Kelce from the sidelines at the game.
Wtf is he doing in Kansas City, @GayleKing? https://t.co/faAaQNnRC9 pic.twitter.com/ssJVJxN0pT
— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) August 23, 2024
“Gayle King also came outta nowhere with a rumor that Travis Kelce was in talks to appear at the DNC,” a commenter posted, adding, “Just nonsense all day leading up to Night 4.” “All just a lie to keep people tuned in,” a commenter suggested.
Like Kelce, Indy Star reported that his girlfriend, Swift, was also not at the event. She’s currently on a break from The Eras Tour.
Following this past Tuesday’s performance at Wembley Stadium in London, she won’t resume the tour until Thursday, November 14, in Toronto, Canada. During the DNC coverage, King joked that the speculation about Kelce attending the event might be “part of the ‘keep hope alive’ plan.”
