Taylor Swift blasts President Trump in incendiary tweet: 'We will vote you out in November'

Lyndsey Parker
·Editor in Chief, Yahoo Music
Updated ·4 min read

When Taylor Swift remained neutral on social media during the 2016 presidential election while her pop peers like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry stumped for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, many pundits criticized her silence, and some even accused her of being a Trump supporter or alt-right movement poster-girl. But an incendiary new tweet from Swift, who has become more politically vocal over the past two years, has just made it extremely clear to her 86 million Twitter followers where she stands regarding the upcoming Donald Trump/Joe Biden election.

“After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump,” the pop star posted Friday morning.

Swift was reacting to President Trump’s series of Twitter posts Thursday evening during the protests in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd — a 46-year-old black man who died on May 25 after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for at least seven minutes while he was handcuffed and lying face-down on the road. Swift specifically referenced the president’s most shocking statement, which read in full: “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” (Twitter flagged Trump’s post with the warning: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”)

The formerly apolitical Swift began voicing her political opinions back in October 2018, starting with an Instagram post expressing her support for Democrat Phil Bredesen in the race for senator in Tennessee and slamming Bredesen’s Republican opponent, Marsha Blackburn, for her voting record against women's and LGBTQ rights. “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 tweeted at that time. "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." Later in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana, Swift spoke about this risky decision, admitting that she feared she could lose half of her fanbase by publicly championing one political party or candidate, but saying, "I need to be on the right side of history.”

Many of Swift’s fans praised her Friday for her newfound outspokenness, with some semi-jokingly suggesting that she run for office herself one day. As of this writing, President Trump has not responded to Swift’s tweet.

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