Donald Trump claps back at Taylor Swift’s anti-Republican comments
Taylor Swift breaks her political silence for the first time and drives Donald Trump to retaliate.
Taylor Swift is the latest in Donald Trump’s list of celebrities he’s lost interest in. According to the US President, he likes her music “25 % less now.”
Trump’s comment came after Swift spoke against Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee. In her Instagram account with over 112 million followers, the 28-year-old singer wrote,
"As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me."
Swift also said Blackburn “voted against equal pay for women” as well as the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. She also accused Blackburn of allowing businesses to refuse service to gay couples and for the law to ban them from marrying.
“These are not MY Tennessee values," she adds.
The singer also said she intends to support Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper for Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.
While Blackburn didn’t immediately respond to Swift’s post, Trump took the initiative and expressed his diminishing respect for the “Fearless” singer while speaking outside of the White House.
"I'm sure Taylor Swift has nothing or doesn't know anything about her. Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now, OK?"
He also said Blackburn was “doing a very good job in Tennessee. She’s leading now, substantially, as she should.”
Swift has tried to steer clear of politics in the past, unlike other celebrities. In 2016, she didn’t publicly support any candidate after she told Time Magazine in 2012 that she didn’t know much about politics to lobby for a candidate and influence others.
"I don't think that I know enough yet in life to be telling people who to vote for"
However, it’s been four years since that statement and the singer seems to have a clearer grasp of politics now. In fact, in her Instagram post that irked Trump, she wrote,
"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."
Trump’s latest barb against Swift comes in the heels of an internet frenzy that erupted all because of a piece of paper stuck in his shoe. While boarding Air Force One in Minneapolis, footage revealed a white piece of paper or toilet paper attached to his left shoe and dangling from it as he scaled the plane’s staircase.
The clip has been viewed more than 1.8 million times on Twitter after it was shared by a Politico staff member. Tweets highlighted the humiliating moment suspecting the president wouldn’t be happy about it when he sees the video himself. One thing's for sure though, his anger won't be directed towards Swift this time.