Donald Trump Says He Hates Taylor Swift

Less than a week after Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president, Donald Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday that he hates the singer.
In a Sunday post on Truth Social, his social media platform, the former president, in an all-caps message, wrote: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
On Tuesday, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, faced off with Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, on the ABC News debate stage in Philadelphia for the first time as the two clashed over several important issues like abortion, the economy and immigration. Shortly after the debate, Swift, whose fanbase spans generations and crosses party lines, made tidal waves in the political arena with an endorsement of Harris and a targeted push for voter registration.
In an Instagram post, in which Swift did not directly attack Trump, she announced her support for Harris, praising her as “a steady-handed, gifted leader” who could accomplish more by leading with “calm and not chaos.”
The former president’s campaign previously shared artificial intelligence-generated images depicting Swift and her fans as Trump supporters—images Swift cited as a reason for her public endorsement of Harris. She signed the message with “Childless Cat Lady” and included a photograph of herself holding her cat, in an apparent reference to comments that Ohio Senator JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, made in 2021, when he described leading Democrats as “a bunch of childless cat ladies.”
In 2020, Swift endorsed President Joe Biden and Harris in the election that saw the duo victorious over Trump.
Since her endorsement of Harris, conservative critics have continued to take aim at the singer and downplay her impact on the political landscape.
Newsweek has reached out to a spokesperson for Swift via email for comment.
Previously speaking to Newsweek, Mark Shanahan, an American politics expert at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, said that Swift would boost Harris’ appeal among the demographics she needed to win in November.
“Her camp will be hugely buoyed by the decision of the biggest personal brand in global entertainment to endorse the Democrat ticket straight after the candidates left the stage,” he said. “Harris needs an alliance of women, the young and minorities to win this election. Swifties spread across all those categories.”
However, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Sunday, just 6 percent say Swift’s endorsement of Harris makes them more likely to vote for her; while 13 percent, instead, say it makes them less likely to support her, with 81 percent saying it makes no difference.
The poll surveyed 3,276 adults including 29 percent who identified as Democrat, 29 percent who identified as Republican and 30 percent who identified as independent. The margin of error of this sample was 2 percentage points and was conducted between September 11-13.
In response to Trump’s Sunday remark on Truth Social, the former president’s communications director Steven Cheung, in an email, directed Newsweek to the same ABC News poll.
Meanwhile, the former president previously praised Swift during a November 2023 interview with Variety co-Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh.
“I think she’s beautiful—very beautiful! I find her very beautiful. I think she’s liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump. I hear she’s very talented. I think she’s very beautiful, actually—unusually beautiful!” Trump said about the singer.
The Harris campaign in a statement has taken aim at Trump and given a nod to Swift with the use of her song titles mixed in.
“Donald Trump’s week of whining and spouting conspiracy theories has voters on both sides of the aisle ready to Forget That He Existed. The American people want to be Out of the Woods of the chaos and division of the Trump era, leave behind the Blank Space of Trump’s broken promises, and Begin Again by electing Vice President Harris to ensure America’s future of opportunity is Long Lived,” Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said.
She added: “Voters know All Too Well how dangerous Trump and his Project 2025 agenda will be if he wins. This November, we can make sure this is The Last Time we have to deal with his End Game of jacking up taxes on the middle class and ripping away Americans’ freedoms. Together, we can turn the page on the Trump Era and write a new chapter where all Americans Breathe easy knowing we have strong, steady leadership at the helm. We can make sure The Story of Us is one of progress—and show Donald Trump we are not going Back to December of 2020. Like ever.”
Trump’s Sunday remark has already made its way across social media as critics of his responded.
Former Trump aide and The View co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin, took to X, formerly Twitter and wrote, “Trump having a totally normal Sunday morning….”
Former Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who also recently endorsed Harris, wrote on X, “Says the smallest man who ever lived.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s remark come after Vance dismissed Swift’s endorsement just hours after the debate, saying most Americans would not be “influenced by a billionaire celebrity.” Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked him about the endorsement, saying many women voters could be swayed by Swift.
“I don’t think most Americans, whether they like her music, are fans of her or not, are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity who I think is fundamentally disconnected from their interests and the problems of most Americans,” Vance responded.
Update 9/15/24, 3:40 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.