Former President Donald Trump has seemingly suggested that Taylor Swift supports his 2024 presidential campaign by sharing fabricated images on social media that portray the singer and her fans, known as Swifties, rallying behind him.
Trump shared the images with the caption “I accept!”, despite the fact that many of these pictures were clearly altered, with some apparently generated by artificial intelligence.
The posts quickly drew the ire of Swift’s fanbase, who accused Trump of deliberately spreading misinformation.
Among the images Trump shared was one showing Swift fans wearing t-shirts that read, “Swifties for Trump.” The image also included a “satire” label and a misleading headline claiming Swift’s fans were turning to Trump after an alleged foiled ISIS plot targeting her concert. This seemed to be a reference to a real incident where Swift cancelled concerts in Vienna due to a security threat, leading to the arrest of two individuals suspected of planning attacks inspired by ISIS.
Another image Trump re-posted resembled a World War I recruiting poster, substituting Uncle Sam’s face with Swift’s and the words, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”
NBC News reported that two of the images Trump shared actually featured real women who are Trump supporters, but the implication that these women or Swift herself endorsed him is misleading.
Of course, it is plausible and highly likely that many of Swift’s millions of fans are Trump supporters with conservative values, but this does not reflect an endorsement from the start. While there is evidence of a fast growing Swifties for Kamala movement, there is limited evidence that the same movement exists for Trump supporters.
This is our place, we’re having a call! 💙
Join us on Tuesday, August 27 at 7 pm ET to kick off the organizing efforts of our #SwiftiesForKamala coalition committed to protecting democracy by working together to elect Vice President Kamala Harris as our next President! pic.twitter.com/F4DlU3fkc9
— Swifties For Kamala (@Swifties4Kamala) August 7, 2024
“Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every single day!” Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, claimed in a statement to CNN.
It’s important to note that Swift has not endorsed any candidate for the upcoming election, but Swift has a history of opposing Trump’s politics.
After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 29, 2020
In 2020, during the nationwide protests following the police murder of George Floyd, Swift condemned Trump’s actions, tweeting, “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? We will vote you out in November.”
