‘She’s legitimately liberal? It’s not an act? It surprises me that a country star can be successful being liberal’
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In a new book following his years as a reality TV personality, Donald Trump gives his assessment on the “beautiful” but “liberal” Taylor Swift.
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In an excerpt from Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, shared by Variety, Trump shared his thoughts on the music superstar.
“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,” he told the book’s author, Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh. “I think she’s very beautiful, actually — unusually beautiful!”
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Trump and his allies are reportedly getting ready to go to battle with Swift ahead of this fall’s U.S. election.
The singer-songwriter hasn’t yet pledged her support for incumbent Joe Biden, but aides close to Trump — who was recently found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records following allegations he paid off porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair — are preparing for “holy war” against Swift if she comes out in support of the Democrats.
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But as talk of Swift throwing her support behind Biden swirls, Rolling Stone reported this past February that Trump is relishing the prospect of going up against them both.
According to the outlet, Trump thinks that no celebrity will be able to match his own perceived popularity with voters.
A source told Rolling Stone that behind closed doors, Trump is claiming that he is “more popular” than Swift and that he has more dedicated fans than she does.
In an email to the magazine, Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said a Swift endorsement for his political rival isn’t worrying the former president. “Joe Biden might be counting on Taylor Swift to save him, but voters are looking at these sky-high inflation rates and saying, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Miller wrote.
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An official working on the Trump campaign said Swift’s support for Biden would give the fiery businessman permission to turn his “culture-warrior dial up to 11.”
“It would be more fuel thrown onto the culture-war fires,” an official on Team Trump said. “Another left-wing celebrity who is part of the Democrat elite telling you what to think.”
Insiders close to Trump have been vocal in warning Swift to stay out of the 2024 election.
“Don’t get involved. Don’t get involved in politics; we don’t want to see you there,” Fox News host Jeanine Pirro said this past February. “Joe Biden is in (a) hole with young people, he knows it. And if he thinks Taylor can get him out of that hole, he’s gonna go for it.”
Despite years of staying quiet on political issues, Swift broke her silence in 2018 when she announced she was voting for two Tennessee Democrats.
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After previously calling her “fantastic” and “terrific,” Trump was miffed at her public declarations. “Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now, OK?”
In 2020, after Trump tweeted threats at George Floyd protesters in Minnesota, she accused the commander-in-chief of “stoking the fires of white supremacy” and promised to use her voice against him in that year’s presidential election.
The 14-time Grammy winner ended her message by writing, “We will vote you out in November.”
The message racked up millions of likes and became Swift’s most-liked post on the platform.
Last fall, Trump weighed in on the relationship between Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce during an interview with the Daily Caller.
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“I wish the best for both of them. I hope they enjoy their life, maybe together, maybe not — most likely not,” Trump said.
But in an excerpt from Setoodeh’s upcoming book, Trump wondered aloud if Swift really does embrace liberal policies.
“She is liberal, or is that just an act?” he asked Setoodeh during their interview. “She’s legitimately liberal? It’s not an act? It surprises me that a country star can be successful being liberal … Garth Brooks is liberal. Explain that! How does it happen?”
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