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Former US President Donald Trump has posted a fake social media photo of pop superstar Taylor Swift, in which she is urging people to vote for him in the November election. The post made by the Republican candidate on Truth Social on Sunday shows Swift wearing a red, white and blue dress with the words “Taylor Swift wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” Trump wrote, “I accept!” (Also read: Taylor Swift will not appear at the Democratic National Convention despite rumours)
Donald falsely claims Taylor’s endorsement
Swift has not publicly endorsed any candidate in the 2024 race, but has supported Democrats in the past. The singer endorsed US President Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris in 2020. Harris is set to be formally nominated as the 2024 Democratic nominee at the party’s national convention in Chicago this week. Swift also criticised Trump in a 2020 documentary.
Trump also posted photos of young women wearing “Swifties for Trump” shirts, and a satirical article titled “Swifties turn on Trump after ISIS crashes Taylor Swift concert.” The article was marked “satire” above the headline.
Swift canceled three of her shows in Vienna this month after authorities said they had foiled the planned attack. Local authorities arrested a 19-year-old man they said was inspired by Islamic State.
“Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every day,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement when asked for comment about the fake Swift image.
Several Swift fans and watchdog groups said several photos posted by Trump appeared to be deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence.
Advocates in the music industry, Hollywood and Washington are pushing for federal legislation and other measures to fight the explosion of fake AI images online.
According to Reuters, consumer group Public Citizen said Trump’s post was “yet another example of AI’s power to create misinformation.” The group added, “The potential harm to our society that could result from such misinformation, including abuse of our elections, is widespread and extremely harmful.”
Taylor’s political leanings
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Swift fan Rebecca Goff handed out friendship bracelets at the Nevada Democratic Party breakfast, a common practice among the singer’s fans.
Gauff, 39, said she thinks Trump is the opposite of Swift’s views, which include celebrating girlhood and womanhood. “It’s the opposite of what Trump and the GOP are trying to do, especially to women. They’re trying to make us smaller. They want us to go back to just being housewives and having babies,” Gauff said.
There was no immediate comment about Trump’s post from Swift, who separately shared a video of a supporter on Truth Social that made the dubious claim that “Swifties were rallying for Trump.” Trump’s post also garnered mockery and derision online from the singer’s fans, some of whom called on her to take legal action against the former president.
Both Republicans and Democrats have long wanted her endorsement, but the megastar has largely remained quiet about her political leanings.
Demonstrating her star power, when Swift encouraged her fans to register to vote last year, directing them to the nonpartisan nonprofit Vote.org, her appeal had an immediate impact. Following her message, the organization said it recorded more than 35,000 new registrations, up 23 percent from last year and the most since 2020.
Swift’s interest in politics has received considerable scrutiny, making her a ripe target for political misinformation and right-wing conspiracy theories. Her demure nature led many critics to speculate that Swift was a closet Republican, but in 2018 she broke both her silence and the internet by endorsing the Democratic opponent of far-right U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee. She has since notably spoken out for the legal right to abortion and LGBTQ rights.
In recent weeks, social media has been abuzz with speculation that Swift would endorse Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November’s election. The megastar has not commented publicly, but that hasn’t stopped a horde of fans from forming a group called “Swifties for Kamala,” which has attracted tens of thousands of followers on platforms like Instagram and X.
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