CNN
—
Taylor Swift has yet to endorse any presidential candidate in this election, but former President Donald Trump has said he would accept the superstar’s non-existent endorsement.
“I accept!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account, along with a carousel of images, some of which appear to be at least partially AI-generated.
One of the AI-edited photos shows Swift dressed as Uncle Sam with the caption, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump,” while another shows Swift fans wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts.
A representative for Swift did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
One of the posts shared by Trump is satire: a trove of fake, AI-generated photos of “Swifties for Trump” that references the thwarted planned terror attack at a Swiftie concert in Vienna earlier this month, with the caption “Swifties turn to Trump after ISIS thwarts Taylor Swift concert.” (The original X account that first published the post confirmed that it was, in fact, satire, writing, “LOL @realDonaldTrump shared my post.”)
Swift’s fans, or “Swifties,” as they’re known, have been paying close attention to politics this election. Shortly after President Joe Biden left office and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, a large group of Swift fans formed a community called “Swifties for Kamala,” which is not affiliated with Swift. The group, which mobilized Swift fans to help elect Harris and other Democratic candidates, has more than 60,000 followers on X.
While there is no official “Swifties for Trump” group formed at this time, the superstar has a conservative, pro-Trump fanbase who have voiced their support for the former president through their respective social media accounts.
Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chang said in a statement to CNN, “Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that gets bigger every day!”
In 2020, Swift endorsed Biden and Harris for the White House.
Speaking about her endorsement at the time, Swift told V Magazine in October 2020, “The change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color have a right to be safe and represented, that women have a right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community has a right to be recognized and accepted.”
On the night of the 2020 vice presidential debate, Swift Social Media“I’m gonna be yelling at the TV watching and cheering on @KamalaHarris.”
Swift has not endorsed Harris in this year’s presidential election, but fans have speculated. After a recent European leg of her “Eras” tour, Swift fans were convinced she had left an Easter egg in support of Harris, after a silhouette of a woman was projected onstage that appeared to represent the vice president. However, CNN denied the theory, reporting that the silhouette in question was actually one of Swift’s backing singers.
Swift was not involved in politics for the first decade of her career, but in recent years has become a vocal supporter of Democratic candidates and policies. She is an advocate for the LGBTQ community and frequently speaks out on women’s rights and reproductive health.
In the 2020 documentary Miss Americana, Swift said she regrets not speaking out sooner on political issues. “I have to be on the right side of history,” she said in an emotional scene with her father. In another scene, Swift told a publicist that she doesn’t care if she receives backlash for speaking out against Trump. “I don’t care. If I get bad press for saying, ‘Don’t put homophobic racists in office,’ then I get bad press for that.”
Swift tweeted her disdain for Trump in 2020, writing, “You’ve stoked the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, so you have the nerve to pretend to be morally superior before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’? Vote to get you out in November.”
A spokesperson for Swifties for Kamala condemned Trump for posting the AI photo, and told CNN the group was created because it “shares values” with Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.
“We believe Harris-Waltz will fight for our rights and the rights of our loved ones and make this country a safer place for everyone,” Carly Long, communications director for Swifties for Kamala, told CNN on Monday, adding that the group has raised more than $10,000 for Harris-Waltz’s campaign. “Our movement started and gained so much momentum because, as Taylor Swift said in 2020, Donald Trump is a ‘homophobic racist,’ and we as a community cannot and will not support a president like that. While we do not represent all Swifties, we believe there is reason to believe that we don’t need an AI to show our support for Harris.”
Despite this post, Trump seems aware that Swift doesn’t actually endorse him.
In the new book, “The Apprentice in Wonderland,” Trump told author Ramin Setoodeh, “I think she’s beautiful. Very beautiful! I think she’s very beautiful. I think she’s a liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump.”
Following the book’s publication, left-leaning Swifties took to social media to message the former president, telling him to “stay away from her.”
