Following Taylor Swift’sInstagram endorsement of Democratic Tennessee candidates Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives in the upcoming Tennessee election, the President himself weighed in.
Trump only just recently held a Make America Great Again rally last week to drum up support for Bredesen’s rival Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn’s campaign, who Swift vehemently criticized.
A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT
“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. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn,” Swift wrote in her lengthy post.
On Monday at the White House, Trump doubled down. “Marsha Blackburn is doing a very good job now in Tennessee,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “She’s leading now substantially, which she should. She’s a tremendous woman. I’m sure Taylor Swift doesn’t know anything about her. Let’s say I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now, OK?”
A reporter had only just explained to Trump that the pop superstar took a side Sunday night after years of silence on political matters. So Trump was answering the question off the cuff.
Trump praised Swift’s music in 2012. But for Swift’s part, she did not wade into the 2016 election, and has famously never voiced an opinion about Trump’s administration. So after years of opting not to be vocal about politics with some exceptions, when she spoke up, it mattered.
Trump tells us upon arriving back at the White House he likes Taylor Swift’s music but maybe about “25 percent” less now that she has endorsed Bredesen
