2024-08-20 09:40:02
CNN
—
Taylor Swift has yet to endorse any presidential candidate this election cycle. But former President Donald Trump says he accepts the superstar’s non-existent endorsement.
Trump posted “I accept!” on his Truth Social account, along with a carousel of (Swift) images – at least some of which appear to be AI-generated.
One of the AI-manipulated photos depicts Swift as Uncle Sam with the text, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” The other photos depict fans of Swift wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts.
A representative for Swift did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
One of the posts that was shared by Trump is satire. A slew of fake, AI-generated photos of “Swifties for Trump” references the thwarted planned terrorist attack at Swift’s Vienna concerts earlier this month with a caption that says, “Swifties turning to Trump after ISIS foiled Taylor Swift concert.” (The original X account that first published the post wrote, “LOL @realDonaldTrump shared my post,” confirming that the post was, in fact, satire.)
After publication of this article, an editor from a website called Wisconsin Right Now reached out to CNN to say she took two of the photos Trump posted at his rally in Racine, Wisconsin, in June. Jessica McBride said the woman in two of the photos – the only two photos that weren’t generated by AI – is named Jenna Piwowarczyk.
“I know of so many Swifties who have conservative values and many, many more who have reached out to express their support and appreciation for the ‘Swifties for Trump’ movement,” Piwowarczyk said in a statement provided by Wisconsin News Now. “By focusing more on the AI photos than on the REAL person in the photos that Trump shared, I think the media are missing an opportunity to recognize that, of all the millions of Taylor Swift fans, of course there will be many who support Trump and conservative values and also love her music. We exist. We are real.”
Swift’s fans – known as Swifties – have gotten political this election cycle. Immediately after President Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, a large group of Swift’s fans formed a community called “Swifties for Kamala,” which is not affiliated with the singer. The group, which has mobilized Swift fans to help elect Harris and other Democratic candidates down the ballot, has more than 60,000 followers on X.
At this time, an official “Swifties for Trump” group has not been formed, though the superstar does have conservative, pro-Trump fans who have expressed their support for the former president across their individual social media accounts.
Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, told CNN in a statement, “Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every single day!”
In 2020, Swift endorsed Biden and Harris in their bid for the White House.
Speaking of 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 deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included.”
On the night of the vice presidential debate in 2020, Swift posted on social media, “Gonna be watching and supporting @KamalaHarris by yelling at the tv a lot.”
While Swift has not endorsed Harris in her presidential run this year, she has fueled fan speculation. After a recent show on the European leg of her “Eras” tour, Swifties were certain that the singer had left an Easter egg endorsement of Harris when a woman’s silhouette pictured onstage appeared to depict the vice president. But CNN debunked that theory, reporting that the silhouette in question was actually one of Swift’s background singers.
Swift, who was not political for the first decade of her career, has been vocally supportive of Democratic candidates and policies in recent years. She is an advocate of the LGBTQ community and has spoken frequently about women’s rights and reproductive health.
In her 2020 documentary, “Miss Americana,” Swift expressed regret for not speaking up about political causes sooner. “I need to be on the right side of history,” she said in an emotional scene with her father. In another scene, Swift told her publicist that she does not care if she faces backlash for coming out against Trump. “I don’t care. If I get bad press for saying, ‘Don’t put a homophobic racist in office,’ then I get bad press for that.”
Swift tweeted about her disdain for Trump in 2020, writing, “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.”
A “Swifties for Kamala” spokesperson swiped back at Trump for posting AI photos, telling CNN that their group launched because their community “shares values” with Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.
“We believe Harris-Walz will fight for our rights and the rights of our loved ones, and help make this country safer for everyone,” Carly Long, communications director of Swifties for Kamala, told CNN on Monday, adding that the group has raised more than $10,000 for the Harris-Walz campaign. “Our movement also began and gained significant momentum because, as Taylor Swift said back in 2020, Donald Trump is ‘a homophobic racist,’ and as a community, we do not and cannot support having a president like that. We do not represent every Swiftie, but believe there is a reason we don’t need AI to show our support for Harris.”
Despite his post, Trump seems to recognize that Swift does not actually endorse him.
In the new book, “Apprentice in Wonderland,” Trump told author Ramin Setoodeh, “I think she’s beautiful — very beautiful! I find her very beautiful. I think she’s liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump.”
After the book was released, Swifties on the left took to social media with a message for the former president: “Stay away from her.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
