In an exceedingly rare political statement on Friday, Taylor Swift blasted President Trump for "stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism," vowing that "we will vote you out in November." The tweet is undoubtedly the strongest stance the singer has taken against the president to date, in addition to apparently being the first time Swift has called out Trump publicly by name.
Back in 2016, Swift faced criticism for keeping silent about then-candidate Trump. She was described at one point by The Guardian as a possible "envoy for Trump" and "a notable voice" missing from the torrent of celebrities who were publicly expressing their opposition to the candidate. Swift even began to attract the praise of neo-Nazis, with former Breitbart commentator Milo Yiannopoulos describing her as "an alt-right pop icon" partially because she "isn't very forthcoming about her political or religious views, so fans are kept guessing as to where she really stands."
In the years since, Swift has taken a stronger stance politically, including making a rare statement in 2018 in support of two Democratic nominees in her home state of Tennessee. In her 2018 post, Swift had explained she was "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."
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Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton also strongly condemned Trump for "calling for violence against American citizens" on Friday. You can read more about the Trump tweet Swift and the politicians are addressing here.
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