Donald Trump was already having a tough night on Tuesday with a debate performance panned by both Democrats and Republicans. And then possibly the most famous person on the planet jumped in to endorse his opponent, Kamala Harris.
“I’m voting for [Harris] because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post minutes after the presidential debate ended on Tuesday. “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
When asked Wednesday morning about Swift endorsing the Democratic nominee, Trump tried to shake it off, telling Fox News he prefers Swift’s close friend Brittany Mahomes over the singer.
“I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. “She’s a big Trump fan. I was not a Taylor Swift fan.”
He continued: “It was just a question of time. … You couldn’t possibly endorse Biden. You look at Biden — you couldn’t endorse him. But she’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it … in the marketplace. But no, I liked Brittany.”
Trump reacts to Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris: "Well, I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better … I was not a Taylor Swift fan … she'll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace." pic.twitter.com/J9Nk56nhEB
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 11, 2024
Let’s unpack that.
It’s no secret why Trump wanted to turn Fox News viewers’ attention to Brittany Mahomes, best known as the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. She made headlines in recent weeks for publicly supporting Trump. The outsized interest in Mahomes’ political leanings this year is likely because of her close friendship with Swift, who endorsed Biden in 2020 and now Harris in 2024. (Swift started hanging out with Mahomes around the time she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce last year.)
But there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between Swift and Mahomes. The pair were seen hugging it out at the U.S. Open in New York City over the weekend.
Trump told Fox News he “was not a Taylor Swift fan.” He seemed to be one in the past. He tweeted in 2012 that he was “glad to hear” she was co-hosting a Grammy nominations special. “Taylor is terrific!” he wrote. And he apparently felt so invested in Swift’s personal life that he felt the need to weigh in on one of her past relationships that same year.
Glad to hear that @taylorswift13 will be co-hosting the Grammy nominations special on 12.5. Taylor is terrific! Next up in Trump’s short response to Swift snubbing him is his statement that she “couldn’t possibly” have endorsed Biden. Well, he’s on to something there; it would have been strange for her to endorse someone who isn’t running. As for his “marketplace” prediction, only time will tell if Swift loses fans over her endorsement. But her Biden endorsement in 2020 didn’t seem to hurt her career — she’s arguably more popular today than ever before. And a Morning Consult poll from 2023 found a majority of Swift’s fans lean Democratic. So there’s the deep dive into Trump’s reaction to Swift’s endorsement that perhaps you didn’t know you wanted or needed. Perhaps you still don’t want or need it. But thanks for taking this journey with me either way. With that, I leave you with this video posted to Melania Trump’s Facebook page in 2014 that appears to show her husband and son, Barron Trump, listening to Swift’s “Blank Space” in the car.
Hayley Miller is the senior breaking news and blogs editor for MS NOW.
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