"I like her music 25% less now"
Donald Trump has responded to Taylor Swift‘s recent divisive political comments about the upcoming US midterm elections.
This week, Swift made headlines when she broke her political silence to lend her support to the Democrats in the upcoming US midterm elections in the name of human rights.
Swift remained famously apolitical in recent years – and faced criticism for not speaking out against Donald Trump’s election in 2016. While many welcomed Swift outing her political voice this week, many among the right-wing spoke out against her.
“In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” Swift wrote on Instagram as she urged her young fans to register and vote.
“I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.”
She continued: “I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love.”
Lending his support for Ms Blackburn yesterday, President Trump said she was “doing a very good job”, adding: “She’s a tremendous woman. I’m sure Taylor Swift doesn’t know anything about her.”
Trump also commented: “Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now.”
"Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25% less now," Pres. Trump jokes following Taylor Swift's endorsement of Democratic Tennessee senatorial candidate Phil Bredesen. https://t.co/D0fh71pQFl pic.twitter.com/4qeR6fCZcr
— ABC News (@ABC) October 8, 2018
This comes after Trump referred to her as “fantastic” in 2012.
@taylorswift13 Thanks for the beautiful picture— you are fantastic!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2012
Notorious alt-right chat-forum 4-chan are upset about Swift’s comments. “Goodbye Tay”, “They took her from us”, “She was supposed to be our girl!” and “Why did she break our hearts?” are just some of the many hundreds of posts that have appeared in the forum.
Some were also speculating that Swift had been paid to support Bredesen. “Ever notice how every celebrity seems to be reciting the same script,” one member wrote; “All PR nonsense” added another. Others wrote: “she just doesn’t want to be labelled as a white nationalist” and “That looks ghostwritten.”
This morning also saw Reverend & The Makers’ Jon McClure clash with Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan on the show in a debate over Swift’s comments.
“Taylor Swift is an artist. It’s the job of an artist to hold a mirror up to society, especially in this day and age when people in the journalism profession aren’t doing their job. They expect impartiality, not of musicians but of journalists. So when we see people like yourself fawning over Donald Trump, then we feel the need to stand up and say something.”