Donald Trump has not made friends with Taylor Swift's fans because of a post with faked photos. He used fake images to target Swifties during his campaign, in which it appeared Swifties were supporting him. Why is Trump doing this? Simone Driessen, media scientist at ESHCC who specialises in celebrities and their fans, explained this to NOS.
For a moment, Donald Trump seemed to have Taylor Swift's fans on his side. On his own network Truth Social, he posted pictures showing what appeared to be Taylor Swift and her fans speaking out for the US Republican presidential candidate. But as it turned out, he used Swifties as bait for his campaign with partly AI-falsified images showing ‘Swifties for Trump’. This did not go down well, and Trump got angry Swifties all over him. Especially since Taylor Swift herself voiced her support for the democrats during the last election.
Simone Driessen explains that the influence of celebrities like Taylor Swift is very big; people like her have millions of followers. If she then gets involved in a story around political elections, it appeals to a certain group of people who again start thinking consciously about their political vote. Politicians are becoming more and more aware that they need stars to reach that audience as well.
Taylor Swift in fact has yet to comment on who gets her vote, but last time Trump was criticised by her for racism.
- Researcher